The internet of things and how it may help us save money on insurance [Ad]

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I’m not sure about you but I know that insurance is a necessary evil.  Like putting sun tan lotion on your kids, you wouldn’t ever skip it, you know it’s vital but there must be an easier and cheaper way.

One of the household management tasks that seems to come around faster and faster (I’m just getting old) is insurance renewal.  We all want to get as good a deal as possible but with minimum fuss.  We all assume that the only way to reduce our insurance premiums is to call around half a million insurance companies (*may be exaggerated) and hope for the best quote or worse still decide to cut our level of cover to a make it more affordable.

Technology has been steadily making our lives easier; online shopping, Skype calls with families across the globe, entertainment systems and gadgets to beat the band but what if all of this technology we have been embracing in the last number of years could be harnessed to not just make life easier but to help reduce your insurance premiums? Well this time is coming, in fact, it is pretty much here!

Connected Devices

We are all connected these days.  Never without our phones.  We can pretty much run our lives via our little mobile phone.  No matter where we are we can get online.  Many other devices are getting online too.  The future is all about connected devices; smart fridges, home heating systems, security systems.  You name it, it is joining the internet of things.  It is anticipated that by 2020 there will be 50 billion connected devices in the world.  Just ponder that for a moment; 50 BILLION.  We won’t be stressing about leaving electrical items plugged in; we will just turn them off from our phone.  If we are away we will be turning the lights on and off from the other side of the world to make it look as though we are in for security purposes.

These things are already becoming a reality but insurance companies such as AIG are already looking at the impact of having this technology on the risk you pose and the good news is that having these connected devices could reduce your risk and therefore your premium.

Accessing the internet of things from a mobile phone

Big Data

In this technological age insurance companies now have access to more data than ever before.  Big data is buzz speak for the large amounts of digital information we are generating. With access to such data, insurance companies can analyse and use big data in their day to day business.  It is anticipated however that over the next two years insurance companies will use this data much more in their management and pricing decisions.  If an insurance company can see that your lifestyle and habits are less risky via “big data” then a more customized insurance price can be derived based on you as an individual; not just because you are of a particular gender or live in a particular area.

Monitoring Systems and Consumer Control

With all of the connected devices coming on stream it makes complete sense that having monitoring systems around your home that will allow you react to and indeed prevent incidents thereby reduce your risk.  It is already possible to have CCTV in your home linked up to your mobile phone so you can check in on your home around the clock when you are out or away but technology will move to a situation where we are actively getting alerts to possible risks.  Say you leave your hob on and get distracted.  Believe me with three kids it happens.  A quick alert to your phone and you can deal with the risk before it becomes an issue.  A potential fire averted.  A potential source of cheaper insurance gained.

House on fire

With telematics already being used for cheaper car insurance these technological developments are clearly going to be of huge benefit to home owners in the area of gaining cheaper home insurance.

In the meantime, I’m off to shop for a new fridge that will alert me to when my milk runs out and a smart kettle that will be boiled when I need a coffee.  I’ll leave you with this handy little infographic that gives the full low down on what is to come. Roll on my home insurance renewal in October!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in association with AIG

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