How are the top 4 Smart home gadget categories working with home insurance?
Smart home devices are probably one of the fastest growing sectors of consumer goods. There are several unique products out there that can do a number of amusing and entertaining things. Take for example my own personal experience just this past weekend in which we got my 80-year-old mom an Amazon Echo, and I can share two things that are true about the experience. One is that it was amazing to see how 11 people could come together, talk to a machine and actually be entertained by it. And two, which is probably the real value to my mom, the interaction and usability to assist her with so many simple and not so simple tasks that it really made me feel as if we gave her the right gift that will be around for a long time.
Now that we have established that I finally got my mom the perfect gift, let’s get back to the task at hand. What are the top 4 Smart home gadget categories according to Insurance Risk Services, and what can they do for insurance?
- Connected Appliances
- Smart Thermostats
- Smart Home Security
- Smart Lighting
What this tells us is that people are starting to pay attention, not just to the cool factor of having Smart home devices, but truly paying attention to the cost savings and functionality that can be had.
Tying the Smart home culture to insurance makes perfect sense. The premise of insurance is to have as much data as possible to make good underwriting decisions. In the past (otherwise known as last year and beyond) Insurers used prior loss history to predict what the claims would be moving forward. Insurers also used to offer discounts and incentives for clients as a way to keep them engaged and lower the claims on a regular basis. If you have been a home owner you know that if you had a central station alarm that used to qualify for you are discount, and while an alarm still qualifies, the ability for the insurer to know if you alarm is on and working is now possible.
Now, with smart home gadgets insurers can track changes in the homes footprint in real time. Take Hippo insurance for example, Hippo is a Smart home insurance company that has placed a strong focus on preventing or mitigating water damage claims. They present each insured with a smart home gadget that monitors water leakage and pipe freezing. It may not seem like it, but this feature can make the difference between a $500 claim and $100,000 claim. And the fact that there is data that can monitor the data that is amazing. Let’s not forget about how Hippo does their initial underwriting and discounting up front. Their model takes existing data from several locations and it is done in a way that the quoting process is fully automated, completed in 60 seconds and embraces the opportunity to give you up to a total of 25% annual discount within the same process.
So, when you think smart home gadgets, functionality and savings Hopefully you will remember these 4 categories and find the right ones to fit your needs.
