Do modern houses cost more to insure?
In today’s world, technology has taken over just about every aspect of our lives and when it comes to smart home technology, it’s still in its infancy when we look at the potential it has to offer to one’s home, safety, and wallet. How does it relate to saving you money on your homeowners insurance? Well, in short, insurance services will love that you are being proactive in reducing the risks to your home by installing smart home technology, and will often reward you for it.
On the flip side however, there are physical and climate-related factors that directly relate to home insurance rate increases as well — some are in your control and some aren’t, but understanding both will help you see why your rates may increase when your policy renews.
Smart Home Discounts?
Over the past decade, insurance companies are starting to acknowledge smart technology in the home. Homeowners are starting to save money on insurance premiums because of smart home tools that help prevent burglaries, minimize the risks of loss of life, prevents major home disasters, and keep homes and properties safe.
It can also help save money on energy bills and be convenient by not having to constantly change the lighting in the home. If something disastrous does happen to your home, such as a large water leak that you were unable to fix in time, the water detection sensor will provide proof that your house was indeed compromised by spilling water from your sink. This can expedite the claim process allowing you to get the money back quicker to pay for the damage.
There is a lot of insurance fraud out there, having smart home technologies can speed up the claims process and many insurance companies offer discounts on home insurance rates if a home is protected by a security system or smart home monitoring. Smart-home technology is getting cheaper to install and can save you money on your monthly insurance premium cost.
What about increases?
Rising Housing Costs
Housing prices have gone up significantly over the past few years, and luxury items like pools and hot tubs can drive up replacement costs and increase the risk for liability claims.
More Severe Weather
Every year Canada is experiencing more extreme weather events, leading to more severe damage to homes.
High-Cost Materials and Appliances
New homes are often outfitted with more high-tech, high-cost, environmentally friendly components like solar panels, energy efficient windows and doors, high-efficiency dishwashers and laundry machines — while these may keep electricity costs down month over month, they usually do cost more to repair or replace when damaged.
Aging Infrastructure
Even if your home has been updated or renovated recently doesn’t mean the infastucture surrounding your house has. Outdated municipal infrastructure means more sewer backups, especially when paired with lots of rainfall.
All of the above are major factors that can affect home insurance rates. All you need to do is notify your insurance broker of the precautions and actions taken by installing smart home technology to your property, and talk to them about lowering premium cost.
All-in-all, insurance is, and has always been, a complicated subject. Homeowners will always need to find the right balance between beneficial smart home technologies and expensive eco-friendly materials to make sure it fits their budget and insurance coverage needs.
Need help? Want answers? Contact Insurance Jack at 1-888-268-2408 or help@insurancejack.com about any home insurance questions you may have.