A practical guide to arranging urgent SIA security cover at short notice, what to have ready, what to ask, and how to make sure you’re getting licensed, insured officers.
Emergencies rarely wait for office hours. Whether a night-shift guard has called in sick, a property has just been vacated, or an alarm keeps activating, the faster you can brief a provider the faster officers arrive. Have your site postcode, access details, dates, hours and the number of officers ready before you call.
Any legitimate provider should be able to confirm three things immediately: that officers hold valid SIA licences, that they’re vetted to BS7858, and that the company carries public and employers’ liability insurance. If a provider can’t confirm these, walk away, you carry the liability if something goes wrong on your site.
Cheap cover that you can’t verify is a false economy. Ask how you’ll know officers actually attended and patrolled: GPS clock-in, checkpoint scans, a live occurrence log and photo incident reports mean you can prove the service was delivered, useful for your own management and for insurers.
For urgent work, expect an hourly rate plus a possible callout. A trustworthy provider quotes transparently before anyone is dispatched, with no hidden fees. Get it in writing where you can.