You may already have some smart devices in your home, such as a smart doorbell or a home assistant like Amazon Alexa, or you may be toying with the idea of investing in a smart thermostat or lighting. Maybe there’s an idea going in your head, and you are thinking, is it right to have smart devices around your house, or it’s not that good. There are many reasons why you should install a smart device in your home, and one of those reasons is that it would make your life easier.
But did you realize that investing in smart technology for your home could affect your home insurance premium? Yes, that’s right. Using smart technology at your home does affect your home insurance premium. Now you’re maybe even more confused, and you don’t know what to do. Does it affect the bonus in the right way or the wrong way? Will your premium skyrocket, or it won’t?
Insure4Retirement has recently published an article about how smart installing devices can affect your insurance premium. You may be thinking, well, does that mean my premium will go up because I’ve got more expensive technology in my home that could be stolen? But actually, good news, your premium could go down if you pick the right insurer because insurers are now beginning to recognize that certain types of smart devices should reduce the risk of burglaries and even water damage in your home. That’s fantastic news, and it would probably be best for everyone to think about getting some smart devices for their homes. So now, the question is, which methods could lower your insurance premium?
We are going to help you and break down the best devices that you can invest in to lower your premium.
Smart Sensors
When fitted around your property to cover all access points, including doors and windows, intelligent sensors will alert you when an intruder has triggered them. The alert can be sent to your smartphone or tablet and will also allow you to respond to the trigger using other smart devices such as bright lighting or smart speakers. Of course, you won’t know exactly what the trigger is, it could be your neighbors’ cat, or your son returning home late after hours. Also, some people live in areas where it is quite normal to come across a fox, a rabbit, or even a dear. It means that the sensors will go on and off nonstop, and you will not be able to know if there is an animal in your yard or maybe a trespasser. So here’s where a smarter camera comes in.
Smart Cameras
Just like smart sensors, smart cameras are triggered on movement and will stream live footage to your desired smartphone and tablet to allow you to watch the action in real-time. You can then choose your response. Say, for example, the cameras show a suspicious character hanging around your car on your driveway. You could turn on the lights in the house if they’re smart lights, and also start to play loud music from your smart speaker. Or you can even record yourself and represent that to the trespasser. A suspicious character will be confused, scared, or just embarrassed, and it will swiftly walk away.
The smart thing and the most crucial part is that this can all be done while you’re not at the house, you could be lying on a beach in Mexico for all the suspicious character knows. But your smart cameras, which can also be combined with intelligent sensors for full house coverage, will allow you to have eyes and ears on the inside and outside of your home at all times. And say something does happen, then you have a video recording as evidence to provide to the Police. That can come in handy when unfortunate events occur, and they sometimes do.
Smart Leak Detectors
If you are lucky, you don’t know how difficult it is to recover from a flood in your house, but if you ever experienced something like that, you know that you don’t want that to happen ever again. For that, there are smart leak detectors available on the market that you can attach to the pipes at your home, and the device will measure the air and water temperature in your home. They can also measure water flow and pressure, and detect even the smallest leaks. The device will alert you if there is a leak, and some can even shut off the water supply.
We hope that it never comes to that moment, but if it does, it is advisable to have this little helper because it will save you a lot of money and trouble that comes with cleaning up.
Smart Doorbells
On a smaller scale, a smart doorbell provides smart camera coverage for your front door and will trigger as soon as someone walks up to your driveway. They also double as a video intercom allowing you to have a two-way conversation with your visitor. That is great for deliveries because if you’re not at home, you can politely ask the delivery driver to leave the package somewhere else or to come back at another time. You can always see who is in front of your door, and you will still be prepared. With this, there will be no longer those tense situations where you need to think about who’s at the door when you are not expecting anyone.
Therefore the conclusion is that smart devices are brilliant, and they can significantly improve security. You will be able to sleep peacefully in your bed, or anywhere in the world, knowing your home is safe. Furthermore, your home insurance premium will not go up.
