Water damage claims continue to mount for insurance companies and newer technology is available to reduce or even eliminate these losses. One of our partner companies reported in 2022 41% of their property losses were related to interior water damage.

Frozen pipes, broken water supply lines or failure of Polybutylene pipe. No matter the cause the result is the same, water throughout your home. Today there are several options to mitigate the damage from these catastrophic failures that according to Forbes have an average claim payout of $12,514.00.

There are several types of systems that will assist you controlling these losses within your home.

Point of use systems are the most basic system; These systems are designed to monitor and shut off the water to a single device such as a toilet, dishwasher, or washing machine. These devices work by monitoring how much water is flowing to the specific device, if a predetermined amount is exceeded the water is turned off to that device. As a homeowner you would need to install a device on each and every item in your home that uses water, to be fully protected.

Sensor based systems; Detect leaks where they happen once the water reaches the sensor (assuming there is a sensor in the area) The most basic systems send a text to the homeowner and alert them of the situation, these systems have obvious limitations, they are not going to do much good if you are away from your home. An upgraded version of the sensor is one that will send a wireless signal to the shut off valve that is installed on the water main shutting off all water to the home. The concern with a sensor system is that there is not one in the area that has a leak.

Time Flow based systems; These monitoring systems continuously monitor the water flow throughout your home. Homeowners can program the controller to activate when a predetermined amount of water has been used continuously or by the length of time that the water has been running. Time flow systems can be equipped with battery backups, interface with security systems and provide external notification to the homeowner via text.

As a homeowner we install burglar alarms, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide monitors but for around $1000.00 you can install a system that can save the headache of cleaning up after a large loss from a burst pipe.

To learn more about other emerging loss control trends in personal insurance call the Trusted Choice Insurance Agents at Richey-Barrett.