(Image source: ROC-Connect.)
ROC-Connect (Palo Alto, Calif.), a provider of Internet of Things (IoT) platform technology, has debuted a solution tailored to the insurance industry. The vendor characterizes the offering as a means for insurance carriers to enter the smart home market and rapidly deploy turnkey solutions that can drive growth and retention while reducing liabilities and risks.
ROC-Connect, a company with roots in the retail home improvement industry, markets its capabilities to insurers as smart home as a service (SHaaS) through an open IoT platform. Citing a recent report that security devices for the connected home markets are forecasted to reach $7.7 billion worldwide by 2021, the vendor makes the proposition that insurers can reinvent their business models and move from simply supplying an indemnity product to engaging customers while helping them prevent losses.
(Related: After Telematics: What Smart Homes Mean for Insurance Product Innovation)
The solution aims at making homes safer, more efficient and easier to manage, while protecting consumers and their property from the major risks, according to a company statement.
“ROC-Connect’s SHaaS offering and platform have been optimized to support the deployment of simple, low-cost, and scalable product/service bundles that pave the way to reduce the probability of damage and lowered overall risks for home owners and their insurers,” comments Marcus Scheiber, CEO, ROC-Connect. “In addition to intrusion detection, the platform gives homeowners real solutions for a wide range of potential threats, including fire, carbon monoxide and costly water damage caused by leaks and floods.”
Frequent, Relevant Customer Touchpoints
Kevin Meagher, VP of Business Development, ROC-Connect.
When smart home technologies first became available on the market, manufacturers and retailers realized that by selling the products they had a new opportunity to have an ongoing relationship with customers, Kevin Meagher, ROC-Connect’s VP of business development, told Insurance Innovation Reporter. Insurers already have a relationship with customers and can deploy smart home solutions to both make touchpoints with customers more frequent and relevant, while reducing the chance of losses. The vendor’s platform and services help protect consumers, including those at greatest in the home—such as the elderly—with the addition of activity monitoring and response services, according to Meahger.
“We are partnering with insurance companies to reward consumers who adopt smart home technology to minimize losses and will work to share data to further help both consumers and insurance providers,” Meagher says. “We believe these partnerships will help extend support to new business models with insurance coverage and services bundled to help differentiate, increase revenues, and retain customers.”