Home Insurers Introducing Smart Home Policies

With the current interest in smart home technology, an increasing number of home insurers are taking steps to add smart home technology to their coverage.

According to an article in Insurance Business.ca, a recent NTT Data report found 59% of home insurance carriers said they were making strong progress in adding smart home technology to their policies. Out of the 59%, 77% were increasing their Internet of Things initiatives.

At the moment, insurers are still assessing how this smart home technology will affect policies in the future. In the meantime, an increasing number of people are adopting smart home technology and are waiting for their insurance carrier to respond.

One thing that has been discovered is that while consumers are willing to invest in smart home products they are less likely to be loyal to their insurance providers, as 64% are classified as being “seekers” who would readily leave their provider for another offering lower prices and better customization, and who may have switched providers before. This particular group tends to be unhappy with their policies and are tech savvy and young, and are more likely to sign up for smart home programs offered by carriers. This group is also unique as they are more likely to consider policies from less traditional home insurers such as Samsung, Apple or General Electric. It’s generally believed that technology companies have a significant head start within the smart home insurance market in the future.

This particular group tends to be unhappy with their policies and are tech savvy and young, and are more likely to sign up for smart home programs offered by carriers. This group is also unique as they are more likely to consider policies from less traditional insurance companies such as Samsung, Apple or General Electric. It’s generally believed that technology companies have a significant head start within the smart home insurance market in the future.

In spite of this, there are still hurdles that need to be overcome by home insurers before coverage is able to integrate these newer technologies. Issues with privacy and liability are a particular concern for people. While most aren’t concerned about sharing thermostat data, security camera feed is a completely different matter although most recognize it could reduce the liability risk for injuries on their properties.

Not surprisingly, some 60% of consumers were very concerned about the security of information contained on smart home devices. This is a big problem, as most devices tend to have quite straightforward processing capabilities and as such don’t have good security. It’s believed if gateway home hub systems such as Amazon’s Echo or Microsoft’s Cortana are combined with security systems it will provide more protection.