There’s no doubt technology influences our daily lives and will certainly continue to be pervasive going forward. In fact, many of us have already integrated smart technologies, like security systems, thermostats, and lighting into our homes. We can program our coffeemaker to wake up to a freshly brewed cup of joe, turn our lights on when we’re heading home from work, and see inside our refrigerator from the grocery store when we can’t remember if we’re out of milk. There’s no question, tech has come a long way to make our lives easier. But can it also help us when it comes to protecting our homes and mitigating losses?
Crawford’s VP of Digital and Data Solutions for North America, Patrick Bossey, recently attended the Insurtech Insights Conference where he shared his expertise about ‘smart’ technologies for the home. Patrick believes that “smart technology for our homes can be used in two ways – to protect the home and to repair the home if something bad happens.”
If we think about protecting our homes, we already have technology such as home monitoring systems for security, fire, escape of water and so on. Even though this tech can’t prevent a loss, it can stop it from becoming worse. Patrick says that this technology, coupled with
“the work we’re doing around weather modelling and risk modelling, is making these losses more predictable, allowing for even more advance warning to prepare and mitigate damages.”
When it comes to prevention, we can rely on data and technology to help us build better homes. For example, we can install high tech roofs to protect from wind, hail, and water leaks. We can also better understand and bolster weak points in our homes to make them more structurally sound. By understanding where most losses happen and why, we can use advancing technology to help lessen the likelihood of losses occurring.
And smart technology doesn’t stop there. Crawford has also leveraged tech to help manage the entire claim life cycle, including the IoT (Internet of things) for first notice of loss, intelligent triage, 3D imagery, estimate solutions and technologies supporting managed networks. This enables us to deliver a tailored customer experience and repair or restore homes as quicky and as fairly as possible.
For Patrick, making unpredictable events more predictable by embracing smart technologies and ecosystems at home allows insureds to mitigate the extent of a loss and even help prevent it.
