Home insurer focusing on prevention over avoidable payouts

You never want to think about it, but sometimes things out of your control can lead to a need to claim on your insurers. This is a worst case scenario for many, and often it is over an inability to change anything to do with the home, once you’ve left the house. Well, with the advent of smart homes comes a new wave of insurance innovation. Matt Poll, co-founder of Neos, feels that: ’not enough was being done to help people prevent bad things from happening in the first place’, and has now released a home insurance platform you can control from your smartphone.

You can control your home from your phone already?

Correct, smart home appliances have been around for a little while already, so what difference does Poll’s concept make? He claims that a ‘prevention over payout’ scheme will not only reduce claims through arguably safer homes, that reduction of claims will apparently also lead to lower premiums for customers. In fact, the quote prices range from £15-£50 per month, and if no claims are made then these are backed by a three-year fixed price guarantee. The difference in this smartphone platform is that Neos states that your smart-home technology will be monitored 24/7 by Neos, with assistance should somebody need it. It connects to the smart devices already in your home, meaning that now there will be even less effort to keep on top of the home while you’re out!

Will it actually make a difference?

Founders of Neos believe that their concept will transform the world of insurance and home protection. To add some gravity to this statement, Neos actually ranked 11th in Disrupt 100 this year, a list that ranks businesses worldwide ‘with the biggest promise of influencing, changing or creating new global markets”. This will certainly sway a few of the undecided!

Realistically, though not just for insurance, this does seem like the most feasible ways businesses will evolve into the digital age. If you look only less than a decade ago, it would be unheard of for businesses to attach a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media link to their business. Next, there was the lag for businesses to create ‘mobile friendly’ websites – something that is standard practice today. So some would argue that it’s about time other business sectors jumped on the mobile bandwagon.

Your mobile device can now be used for almost all aspects of your life, such as music, navigation, documentation, travel, maps, photography, news, social media etc. Therefore, not only does Neos’ concept seem like it will be successful, it seems daft that it has taken as long as it has for any insurer to come up with this. It just seems like the natural progression of technology. MyMoneyComparison’s post on indemnity insurance is another example of how different business sectors are utilising mobile technology.

Is this the best home insurance option then?

No it doesn’t! As fantastic as Neos may sound for some, it does not necessarily mean that they are the best insurer for you. What if you work from home or are a full-time parent perhaps? You would be there for the majority of the time and may not need Neos’ services in the way they describe. Or, for the many of you out there that still aren’t fully to grasp with mobile devices or smart home devices, or you may simply not even own smart-home products! These are only two examples of why it is definitely still worth shopping around for home insurance quotes. Don’t worry about technology if you’re still unsure, just make sure that you do find yourself the proper cover for your home, at a price you are happy with!

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