The Internet of Things
How many gadgets do you have in your home? I bet that if you stopped what you were doing right now, looked up and counted all of the gadgets within plain site, that you’d easily count at least five. Dig a little deeper and open up drawers and cupboards, and I bet you that even more gadgets would appear!
You’re not alone! The majority of homes are full of them! From fridges to security alarms, these gadgets are likely to do more than just make our lives easier in the future. It is thought that these items will become smarter and the foundation for how home insurance premiums are worked out. They will harness the Internet of Things (IoT) and lead to much more accurate coverage as a result.
By using the gadgets we already own, we can reduce the number of risks in our homes. For example by having devices in our homes that have the internet embedded inside we can connect them to our smartphones. Functionality could include fridges sending alerts when grocery levels are low and you being able to turn your heating on before you get home.
The main benefit of having these connected devices is that the data can track your behaviour in relation to household usage and detect any risks. This is turn could lead to more accurate insurance premiums, although insurance companies will need to be vigilant in ensuring the data is used only for the reasons it was collected.
This in turn will inevitably mean that consumers will have greater control over our devices through our smartphones so we can react to issues before they even become a problem. Maybe you go out and forget to turn the hob off. Imagine being able to turn if off remotely via your phone. That would be amazing wouldn’t it! Just think of the possibilities!
I thought I’d share the infographic below with you. It reveals 3 new developments that help to reduce risks in our homes along with easy to understand scenario on how the ‘Internet Of Things’ promises to make our lives easier.
