Insurers need to reprice for lower-risk smart homes

While many US insurers are anticipating the impact of autonomous driving, few have yet grasped that a similar trend is playing out in the home insurance markets. Companies that fail to develop a value proposition around the connected home will find margins squeezed as they are forced to give deeper discounts to reflect the lower risks.

Boston, February 29, 2016 – Many large U.S. insurers are bracing for the impact of autonomous driving on their business, but they have yet to grasp that the same trend is at play in the homeowners and renters insurance markets. Insurers that don’t develop a value proposition around the connected home will be forced to give steeper discounts to reflect the lower risks without generating any strategic benefits. Savvy insurers that adapt to the new dynamic have a historic opportunity to become far more relevant than they are today.

Based on over 100 Aite Group discussions conducted between November 2015 and February 2016 with smart-home technology vendors; P&C, health, and life insurers; venture capital firms; and technology vendors, this report examines the connected-home use case for the insurance industry, profiles two turnkey smart-home providers, Zonoff and Roc Connect, and mentions 147 other firms: i6SensorLab, Accenture, ADT, Advisen, Affinegy, Airbnb, AllSeen Alliance, Allianz, Allstate, Amazon, American Family, Apple, Arrayent, Asante, AT&T, August, Auxivia, Aviva, AXA, Axiro, Ayla Networks, Blink, BMZ, BNP Paribas, Cardif, Bosch, BrainPipes, Canary, Carrier's Cor, Centralite, Climax Technology, Cocoon, Comcast, Concirrus, Country Financial, Deutsche Telekom, Dlink, Domotz, Edyn, Eero, EnOcean, Epsilon Data Management, Ericsson, Essence, e-Takescare, Europe Assistance, Exosite, Fiber to the home, First Alert, Gablys Lockit, Glue Home, Google, Habitat, Hakisa, Halo Labs, Home Advisor, Honeywell, IBM, iControl, iDevices, ihiji, Insteon, Iris, ISmartAlarm, Keen Home, Kidde, Kiwatch, KJB, Knock, Kopi, Korner, Krika, Kwikset, leakSMART, Legrand, LexisNexis, LG, Liberty Mutual, Lilin, Linksys, Locktron, Logitech, Lowes Iris, MachineShop, Manything, Medissimo, Microsoft, Muzzley, Myfox, Myxty, Nest, Nubryte, Nucleus, OCO, OnTech, Oomi, Orange, Ozom, Panasonic, Petcube, Philips, Piper, Progressive, Ring, Rogers, Roost, RVA, Sagemcom, Samsung, SAP, Savant, Schneider, SCIO, Scout, Securam, Sentinl, She, Sigfox, SimpliSafe, Skydrop, Skylink, Smanos, Smart Home, Smart Things, Sodimac, Soneter, Sonos, Staples, Staples Connect, State Farm, Telegrafik, Teou d'Atol, Tyco, Uber, Understory Weather, United Technologies, USAA, Verisk, Vivint, Wally Home, Water Hero, Watercop, Waxman, Weave, Wink, ZigBee, and Z-Wave.

This 46-page Impact Report contains six figures and nine tables. Clients of Aite Group’s P&C Insurance, Health Insurance, or Life Insurance service can download this report.