American insurance firm Travelers is pushing smart home adoption among its customers in 11 more states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
American insurance firm Travelers is pushing smart home adoption among its customers in 11 more states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
Eligible customers will receive a discount on their policy with the purchase of a smart home kit, which includes security cameras, water sensors, motion detectors with multi-sensor capabilities, a smart home hub and an Amazon Echo Dot. The smart speaker will be offered for free.
Travelers will also help arrange the smart home kit installation via the Amazon Smart Home Services, at a discounted price.
Travelers’ discount programs were originally available only in California, Colorado, Missouri and Wisconsin.
With the Echo Dot, users can use the “Travelers” Alexa skill to ask billing and payment questions. For example, they may issue a voice command like “Alexa, ask Travelers when is my bill due.”
The other “Travelers Home Central” skill lets homeowners access property maintenance and home safety tips. For example, they may say, “Alexa, ask Home Central for a fall home maintenance tip.”
The company said it plans to add more functionalities to its Alexa skills over time.
TM Insurance gives away smart devices
Giving insurance policy discounts to those who purchase smart home devices is not the only way insurers promote smart home adoption. Earlier this month Iceland-based TM Insurance Company announced it is partnering with smart home firm Roost. TM Insurance will offer a free Roost Smart Water Leak and Freeze Detectors and a Roost Smart Battery to select policyholders.
TM Insurance will help homeowners install the smart devices with the aim of decreasing fire and water leak related claims.
The Roost Smart Battery turns existing smoke alarms into smart alarms. If the alarm sounds and no one is home, a push notification is sent to the homeowners’ smartphone.
The Roost Smart Water Leak and Freeze Detector can sense water leaks, in addition to humid and freezing situations. When water leaks or other unusual situations are detected, alerts will be sent to the Roost app.
Kjartan Vilhjálmsson, VP of Private Lines and Marketing of TM Insurance, said, “We bring great new technology to our customers that help mitigate loss and deliver greater peace of mind.”
TM Insurance will use Roost’s IoT platform and mobile app to strengthen engagement and communication with its customers.
Giving homeowners the latest technology to help mitigate loss and damages is what insurance companies are looking for.
While the alert notification itself does little to prevent damage, giving homeowners the capability – via a water management device – to turn off the water source from their mobile app while they are away from home may sound very attractive to insurance providers.
Another case in point is the use of smart locks which are connected to the police station. If push notifications are sent to the police when the door is tampered with, damages and losses to a home may also be mitigated. And this is what insurers are looking for, and why they are willing to invest in smart home devices on behalf of its customers.