Water damage is the biggest risk facing homeowners today. In fact, water damage claims account for nearly 50% of all residential insurance claims in the Home Insurance market in Canada.
Protecting a home is not a new concept to homeowners, as smoke & carbon monoxide detectors and alarm systems are very common. But most homeowners may not realize that they are 12 times more likely to have a water damage claim than a fire, and three times more likely to have a water issue than a theft.
Each year in Canada, more than one billion is paid in insurance water damage claims to homeowners. What many homeowners do not realize is that often a water damage claim will not fully cover the cost of the necessary repairs, or the impact they’ll face with the strain and stress of a major unexpected/unplanned renovation project. Further, many insurance policies will not cover any water damage if the homeowner is away from the home for more than 72 hours.
While little can be done to protect a homeowner against overland flooding (which typically is not covered in a homeowner’s insurance policy), up to 93% of water damage can be avoided by an automatic water leak detection system. These types of leak detection systems are intelligent systems involving the Internet of Things.
By now, you’ve likely heard of the Internet of Things (in case you haven’t, here’s an article). The Internet of Things (IoT) is utilizes the Internet to create connections, so that users receive information through their mobile devices about everyday things like their homes and cars. Think Fitbit, Nest, or Amazon’s Echo/Alexa. The IoT revolution has begun, and as a result, end users are more connected than ever before.
By combining the IoT and the need for water management and mitigation, Canadian-owned Eddy Home has launched a water leak detection system that will identify immediately water issues or abnormalities, offering both a remote and automatic shut off. Homeowners are immediately contacted through their app when issues occur, as well as Eddy Home’s 24/7 backend monitoring centre. The system also helps families conserve water through tracking everyday water usage, creating fun challenges for families to educate on the importance of water conservation and to help promote positive behaviour.
The result? Water issues are stopped before they cost homeowners thousands.
A recent analysis tracked the water usage of four actual customers before and after Eddy Home’s product, the Eddy IQ was installed. All had saved between 10% and 37% on their water usage, saving them significantly. One customer with a large 10,000 square foot home in Toronto, saw a reduction in annual water usage from 519 m3 to 263 m3 – more than 256 m3 saved or more than $900 annually!
The insurance industry has taken note, and nearly all major insurance companies (such as Intact, Aviva, Northbridge, and State Farm) offer discounts of up to 15% for installing an Eddy IQ.
Turns out, the Internet of Things isn’t just revolutionizing the way we exercise or listen to music. It’s changing how we protect our homes with proactive, intelligent water management systems that substantially impact our bottom lines. How’s that for the future?
Founded in 2014, Eddy Home is an industry leader in leak protection and water visibility solutions. Our suite of smart products offer a comprehensive water management system for homeowners that protects, controls, and conserves. Our products have saved thousands of customers millions of litres of water by continuously monitoring water usage in their home, and if something unusual is detected, alerting them to the issue. To learn more, please visit us at Eddyhome.com or contact us at 1.877.388.3339.
