TECHNOLOGY
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“[ IoT ] will be truly revolutionary for how the industry assesses and prices risk ”
— Sean Ringsted , Chief Digital Officer , Chubb
the industry assesses and prices risk ,” he says . “ It ’ s early stages in the industry , but Chubb is leading the way with using IoT technology as part of its underwriting and risk mitigation toolbox .” Perhaps the most noticeable shift , he indicates , will be a more sustainable approach based on an ethos of ‘ predict and prevent ’ as opposed to ‘ repair and replace ’. With a network of sensors set up around an insured space capable of measuring quantifiable environmental data , insurers can gain real-time updates on changes in temperature , humidity , water pressure and more . Therefore , small faults which have the potential to develop into larger issues can be quickly dealt with in a timely and cost-effective manner . Ringsted provides this example : “ While a homeowner is away on vacation , a smart device in their home alerts Chubb to a water valve leak . Even before the homeowner knows there has been a flood , Chubb is already responding . In the commercial world , we have also seen the value of averting loss and early detection in properties such as a hospital or an unattended college campus .” This subsequently has the knock-on effect of raising the qualitative value of insurance itself , as the service becomes less focused on paying out claims and more engaged in preventing loss in the first instance . Despite stating that insurance is only beginning to embark in this direction ,
SEPTEMBER 2020