London listed InsureTech company, Ondo InsurTech Plc, published a landmark study paper based on new independent research which demonstrates that LeakBot can reduce water damage claims expenditure by 70%. This news comes a couple weeks after Ondo InsurTech Plc announced its expansion to North America and more recently its third Danish collaboration with Privatsikring.
LeakBot is Ondo’s flagship product, it is an intelligent water security system for the detection of micro-leaks in residential properties. LeakBot is used by 10 insurers in 5 countries, by carriers such as Direct Line Group, Hiscox, Mapfre and TopDanmark.
Water damage is the single biggest cause of home insurance claims, accounting for $17bn of claims every year in the USA and UK combined.
The results from the research show that in the five years before the installation of a LeakBot device, 32% of customers claimed for water damage, with a leak from the mains water pipe the most common cause. With LeakBot, customers were able to identify leaks earlier and have LeakBot visit the property to find and fix the problem. Across the three countries the average reduction in water damage claims spending was 44%.
The findings constitute an important update on the impact the LeakBot technology have on mitigating cost of claim to house insurers. In the UK, where the system is more advanced and the plumbing service is the most integrated, LeakBot reduced water damage claims costs by 70%, meaning on average LeakBot can save an insurer $140 of annual claims costs per installation – far in excess of what it will cost a carrier to provide the entire LeakBot product and service to their policyholders for free.
The research further showed that customers who had been given a LeakBot device from their home insurer were more likely to choose to renew and to recommend LeakBot to friends and family.
Craig Foster, CEO of Ondo InsurTech Plc, says: “We knew that LeakBot worked – now we know exactly how well it works. This landmark research by Consumer Intelligence is what the home insurance industry has been waiting for – hard evidence that IOT-based systems can have a dramatic effect on claims costs and consumer loyalty, and can be deployed at scale with an immediate return on investment.”
The independent report, “Counting the Savings: How IoT leak detection is radically reducing water damage claims”, can be downloaded from the company website.
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