Smart Tech Shifts Home Insurance From Claims to Prevention, TechRadar Reports

The shift remains a small fraction of the overall insurance market, which the Allianz Global Insurance Report values at €6.9 trillion, or about £5.9 trillion, TechRadar reported. Mordor Intelligence estimates the InsurTech market at about $1.34 trillion, or £1.01 trillion, and projects growth to $2.44 trillion, or £1.85 trillion, by 2031. In the UK, Mordor Intelligence puts the InsurTech market at $53.53 billion, or £40.48 billion, making it one of the largest and fastest-expanding markets, with a focus on AI-driven claims automation, IoT telemetry and digital underwriting tools.

Motor insurance offers a working example. Drivers, especially younger ones, have telematics devices commonly called black boxes fitted in their cars to monitor speed, braking sharpness and cornering habits. The devices feed real-time driving data to insurers, allowing more dynamic pricing based on actual behind-the-wheel risk rather than blunt demographic assumptions previously used.

Scott Thomson, Insurance Client Partner at NTT Data, told TechRadar that there is more than enough data for companies to use across car, home or even cybersecurity insurance. The problem, he said, is that insurers' claims management remains very reactive. Real-time data can help provide more dynamic pricing for consumers and allow insurers to sharply reduce operational expenses and indemnity spend by catching claims early and managing them proactively through automated AI triage.

Nouran Moustafa, Practice Principal and Executive Financial Advisor at Roxton Wealth, which works closely with property landlords and high-net-worth clients, told TechRadar that the future of insurance should be less about “something went wrong, here is a cheque” and more about technology helping stop it going wrong in the first place.

Pet insurance is another area being transformed by digital-first challengers. Lassie's mobile app acts as a digital companion, offering daily tips, vaccination reminders and educational quizzes. It also integrates with active wearable trackers such as Tractive. Hedda Båverud Olsson, co-founder and CEO of Lassie, told TechRadar that the company never wants to punish someone for not doing preventative things, but instead reward users with better pricing when they do good things.

Hannah Simpson, Chief Product Officer at rival Waggel, said 24/7 vet triage and digital activity rewards have prevented thousands of unnecessary clinic visits while delivering more than £1 million in premium savings back to policyholders. She suggested a similar idea could apply to home insurance, where a smart sensor that spots a leak or alerts someone to a problem early could deal with an issue before it becomes much bigger and more expensive.

For property insurance, the most pressing domestic threat is not dramatic fires or forced-entry burglaries but water damage. Because water sits under constant internal pressure behind walls and under floors, escape-of-water events are a massive liability for homeowners and insurance companies alike. Paul Vacquier, CEO of US-based plumbing technology company Beagle Services, told TechRadar that water damage represents a staggering $14.5 billion paid in claims per year in the United States.

Editor's Summary

TechRadar reports that AI, IoT and smart devices are moving home insurance toward proactive prevention, using motor and pet insurance as examples of how real-time data and rewards can change pricing and behavior. Water damage remains a leading target, with insurers and technology companies arguing that early detection can reduce claims and costs. The shift is still a small part of the global insurance market, but InsurTech forecasts point to rapid growth.