INNOVATION| 11.11.2020
Presenting LeakBot – the IoT solution that saves thousands of euros and lots of hassle at home with smart leak detection and prevention.
Trusting an insurance company is not just about being sure they will there to help you out when you have a problem. It’s also about knowing they will be there to prevent accidents from happening in the first place whenever possible. Water leaks are the most common reason for making an insurance claim. Every day, thousands of customers know what it’s like to find damp stains on the wall or ceiling. They are mainly caused by water seepage that is almost undetectable at first glance, but which compounds over time and leads to a complex repair job down the road. In the United States and the United Kingdom alone, these types of claims cost insurers 16 billion dollars a year. LeakBot has created a unique, intelligent technology solution to detect water leaks, and has partnered with MAPFRE to make it available to clients.
Pablo Fernández, supervisor for business development and innovation at MAPFRE Asistencia, explains how the product anticipates and responds to clients’ needs.
This tie-up means that both companies can now bring a small device, which can be hooked up to the main water stop tap in less than two minutes, into thousands of homes. The device measures the temperature of the water coming into your home and cross-checks it against the ambient temperature of the water in your home. If the temperature is constant it means that everything is as it should be, but if at some point the temperature drops sharply, a notification is sent to the user’s mobile phone. Unlike other sensors, LeakBot’s thermal technology accurately locates the source of the temperature difference, meaning homeowners don’t have to watch a plumber drill multiple test holes in a wall to find the source of the leak.
Declan Murphy, sales manager for MAPFRE Assistance Ireland, knows the mechanism very well, not just because he has been working on the project, but also because he has a LeakBot installed in his own home. Here he explains first-hand how it works.
As a solution designed specifically for the insurance sector, LeakBot participated in one of MAPFRE’s insur_space fast-track-to-market programs, where the pilot product was developed.
Now, with a view to scaling the product as part of a first phase and thanks to the work of MAPFRE Asistencia and its UK and Ireland team, coordinated by Natalia Guerrero, (supervisor for innovation projects), the solution will be tested with 2,000 homeowners insurance clients over the next 12 months in the market.
LeakBot and MAPFRE aim to continue to enhance insurance customers’ experience, and even though the learning curve involved in this project has been steep, it represents the first step in fundamentally changing how homeowner claims are managed, migrating from a reactive model to one that is proactive and technology-driven.