How Insurers Can Protect Loss Ratio with Construction IoT Technology

by Alex Fuentes, EVP – Strategic Growth & Business Development, Brickeye — 

Water damage, concrete rework, environmental impacts – the list of risks associated with construction is extensive. Insurers of high-rise and multi-family building projects are faced with increasing underwriting risk while trying to maintain a healthy loss ratio. Recent “Internet of Things” (IoT) technology innovations have the ability to mitigate job site risk and reduce severity of claims by providing real-time visibility, actionable alerts, and valuable reporting.

From beginning to end, a dynamic set of risks need to be considered and monitored throughout the construction project lifecycle to prevent both short-term and long-term complications from arising. While insurers are aware of the numerous project pitfalls that can lead to claims, many are still not mindful of the advanced construction technologies available on the market – and their risk mitigating benefits. By working closely with insureds and insurers, construction technology providers can help bridge the information gap of available technologies and their benefits, such as those from ruggedized IoT monitoring solutions purpose-built for construction.

Construction IoT technology, consisting of smart, connected sensors and devices, are designed to enable visibility into various project risks over its lifecycle, providing useful data in real-time to key stakeholders. When a project is equipped with IoT technology, insureds are better able to mitigate risks that can lead to costly rework and delays, while in turn protecting a project’s loss ratio for insurers. As a result, insureds can get ahead of problems and protect project margins through real-time and remote project monitoring – detecting potential issues before they escalate to a dangerous and/or costly situation, or quickly minimizing the impact of any incidents that do occur.

Construction IoT in Action

The adage goes, “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” The same is true when it comes to mitigating risk at construction sites. Not all hazards or incidents can be avoided, but you can prepare for them and mitigate them cost-effectively, in many cases at a fraction of the cost associated with typical rework and schedule delays or a deductible payment. For example, cold winter weather can cause water line freezing and pipe bursts. The last thing you want is unattended water flow damaging expensive finishes during the final stages of commissioning or into occupancy, causing claims in the millions of dollars, along with rework and schedule push. With ruggedized IoT sensors in place – e.g. temperature monitoring, leak and infiltration detection, flow monitoring, auto shut-off, etc. – project stakeholders can be immediately alerted to high-risk conditions or the occurrence of a water incident within seconds, enabling decisive action based on a predefined risk mitigation response plan.

Conclusion

By bridging the knowledge gap for insureds and insurers about the technology available on the market today, the construction and insurance industries can accelerate technology adoption and the digitization of risk mitigation to deliver better outcomes. With the increased adoption of IoT technology on job sites, all stakeholders can benefit from reduced project risk and shared value.

On-Demand Webinar

Learn more about Brickeye in the InsurTech Spotlight.

About the Author

Alex Fuentes is EVP, Strategic Growth and Business Development at Brickeye.

About Brickeye

Brickeye is a leader in Construction IoT and Data Analytics. We are accelerating digital transformation in construction by providing actionable, real-time data from job site sensors and predictive analytics all in one platform. We help developers, general contractors and insurers protect project margin by reducing rework and delays, mitigating insurance claims and costs, enhancing quality and productivity, and enabling risk reporting and analytics.

To learn more about Brickeye, visit www.brickeye.com.

Source: Brickeye

.