That’s now the reality for a growing number of insurers who have deployed leak sensors at commercial, institutional and residential properties. These Internet of Things devices are well on their way to becoming standard features of insurance policies.
Chubb, known as the world’s largest publicly traded property insurance company, has embraced the technology wholeheartedly and is pushing ahead with thousands of the hockey-puck-sized sensors around the country. More than 300 Chubb-insured buildings now have the systems in place. It’s all part of Chubb’s declared “war on water damage,” which notes that non-weather-related water damage is one of the biggest drivers of losses for the insurance industry.
Two years into its sensor strategy, the company has compiled a number of examples of how the wireless devices have saved the day and prevented millions of dollars in property losses. In a recent interview with the Insurance Journal, Chubb and an official at Providence College in Rhode Island explained how the devices have worked out.
Providence College has about 4,000 students and 100 acres of grounds and buildings. Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, though, most students, faculty and staff were working at home. That’s when a washing machine supply line on an upper floor of a residence hall began leaking one night.
And no one was there to see the drip, said Andy Sullivan, assistant vice president for physical plant at the college
If the leak had persisted for hours, it likely would have damaged nearby dorm rooms, elevator components and sensitive and expensive electrical and computer network panels.
“The potential damage could have been significant, maybe hundreds of thousands, depending on when we would have discovered it,” Sullivan said.
Source: Claims Journal
