When you have a home alarm system, there are a few important things to keep in mind:

* Tell your alarm company if you use a VoIP phone system.

*Arm your system every time you leave the house, no matter for how short the time.

* You cannot have your system dial 911 directly; this is illegal.

* Many home insurance companies will reduce your premium by as much as 10 to 20 percent if you have an alarm system installed.

* Get a duress code in case you are forced to disable the alarm under the duress of an intruder. The duress code is a silent alarm that dismantles the system but tells the monitoring company that the system is off due to duress.

* Make sure everyone living in the home knows how to use the system.

* To prevent false alarms, make sure you have enough time to arm or disarm the system (30 to 45 seconds is standard).