Travelers Q&A: Smart home devices, consumer education, AI

October 14, 2021 7:10 AM

The Travelers Insurance Co. logo is displayed on the company's office building in Hartford, Connecticut on Feb. 6, 2015.

Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg

Digital Insurance spoke with Angela Orbann, vice president of property, PI product management at Travelers about how technology can optimize a home insurance policy and how artificial intelligence and satellite imagery is helping insurers.

The following responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: What smart home devices are consumers most interested in?

A: There’s a growing trend around smart home devices and from a consumer standpoint we see more products in the market and more options to have things connected like thermostats and fridges.

Specifically, we see consumer interest in cameras. Those types of devices are fun, you can watch your dog in the backyard and see what is happening in your home when you aren’t there. There is an entertainment value because you can interact with the cameras and get something back in real-time.

But from an industry perspective, theft isn’t a big loss driver.

Q: What devices are the most beneficial to insurers?

A: Smart water devices because plumbing and water are big loss drivers for us.

These devices have sensors that will alert you to water in an area of the home or some options include an automatic shut-off valve. These smart devices don’t have the same adoption rate but there is an opportunity to educate consumers and homeowners on these devices that can limit their losses.

Another piece of it is that human nature and homeownership make people believe that something won’t happen to them. You don’t want to bet that it will happen. The sensors and valves are an investment and they’re costly--sometimes a plumber has to be called in. Plus, with water sensors and shut-off valves, if nothing happens, you set it and forget it.

Homeowners who have had water loss are more likely to install these devices because they’ve seen what kind of damage water can do.

Q: What other tools and apps can consumers use to protect their homes better?

A: Consumers can use technology to help the insurance process by having a home inventory. There are apps out there that can help people take photos of items and storage areas--so they can capture them and keep them digitally. A home inventory is helpful to both parties and makes the claims process easier.

Also, vacation homes or secondary homes can be outfitted with smart thermostats to manage a home when you aren’t there full-time or if you go away for vacation. If the temperature is dropping you’ll want to know so your pipes don’t freeze, for example. Even if you are away on vacation these alerts can be helpful and save anything from happening.

Customers can also sign up to get alerts about weather, these alerts can help customers take preemptive action and be ready for potential natural disasters.

Q: What does consumer education around these devices and options look like?

A: I think we can help educate and partner with policyholders. Insurance companies with knowledge, data and experience should share it with policyholders and homeowners in general. No one wants to have a major loss.

We always think about what ways we can use our experience to offer help in prevention and educating them about the products they need to mitigate or reduce loss.

Sometimes, insurance is something you only interact with when you pay an annual bill, but there is an opportunity to engage more and give policyholders more information outside of renewal.

Q: What kind of technology is being used by insurers for underwriting and home inspections?

A: Artificial intelligence is a growing space from an underwriting perspective.

Satellite imagery is also a growing trend. We use rating variables to price a policy like the shape of your roof and some of these things we can use to make the quote and issue process more seamless like aerial imagery and AI. This is a growing spot for property where we can leverage it and make the consumer experience more seamless.

A great example is virtual inspections. We have a partnership with HOVER and we offer self-inspections. The customer uses an app that walks them through what pictures to take and helps them get the appropriate information so the process is a lot easier than having an inspector out. This way it is done faster because we can assess quicker and it saves expenses so we can keep prices down and competitive.

I think this will continue to evolve and the availability of satellite and street imagery--that could potentially replace consumers doing self-inspection and it can be done remotely

The more we can get this information automated and in real-time when assessing risk or when a policy is issued benefits everyone.