Commercial insurer Hartford Steam Boiler has announced an expanded Internet of Things rollout to prevent property damages for small businesses and organizations.
Borne out of its subsidiary Meshify, which it acquired in 2016, new devices at a lower cost point than previous HSB efforts will make it easier to prevent non-weather-related water damage, one of the industry’s leading loss causes.
EDITORS NOTE: IMAGE WAS CREATED USING A FISH-EYE LENS. Commercial buildings stand in the central business district of Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, June 25, 2018. The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Tankan quarterly business survey for June, scheduled to be released on July 2, is likely to show concerns about U.S. tariffs putting a dent in business sentiment. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Like all HSB’s IoT sensors, this new solution uses cellular technology to communicate to HSB’s cloud services, however, one major difference is the cost of a separate cellular gateway device. The device connects once a tab is pulled, and uses proprietary algorithms to monitor for water leaks, freeze conditions and extreme temperatures.
“The cost of the HSB new sensors is comparable to residential Wi-Fi sensor devices, however, HSB also provides a full service program” including monitoring, says Jack Volinski, Senior Vice President and Head of HSB’s IoT business. “We give business owners an effective means to identify these risks all the time, including when their facilities are not occupied, such as nights or weekends.”
Raju Seetharaman, CTO of the U.S. unit of the U.K.-based financial services and life insurance firm, is bringing experience gained with the parent company to expand based on digital transformation of its technology.
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