Smart Water Technology Emerges as Powerful Tool to Combat Rising Non-Weather Water Losses for U.S. Insurers
Non-weather-related water damage continues to quietly erode profitability for American property insurers, with roughly one in 60 insured homes filing a water damage or freezing claim each year. As repair costs rise alongside labor and material inflation, aging housing stock and more frequent extreme temperature swings are making the problem increasingly difficult to manage through traditional pricing and risk controls alone.
In response, forward-thinking carriers are turning to connected home technologies to shift from reactive claims handling to proactive loss prevention.
A new white paper titled “Reducing Non-Weather Water Losses Through Smart Technology” highlights promising results from a limited case study conducted by Moen in partnership with a major national homeowners insurance provider. The study focuses on the effectiveness of the Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff device in reducing both the frequency and severity of non-weather water claims.
According to the findings, the smart water monitoring system — which detects leaks, monitors water usage in real time, and can automatically shut off the main water supply — delivered measurable improvements in claim outcomes. Insurers participating in the program also gained access to richer telematics data, allowing for more accurate pricing, underwriting, and risk engineering.
Why Non-Weather Water Losses Are a Growing Concern
Water damage remains one of the most common and costly perils for homeowners and insurers alike. Unlike storm-related claims, non-weather water losses (such as burst pipes, appliance failures, and slow leaks) often go undetected for hours or even days, leading to significantly higher repair and mitigation expenses.
With U.S. housing stock continuing to age and infrastructure under increasing stress, traditional mitigation strategies are proving insufficient. Carriers that fail to adopt proactive solutions risk margin compression, more challenging reinsurance negotiations, and falling behind competitors who are already integrating smart home technology into their risk management strategies.
Key Benefits Highlighted in the White Paper
The Moen white paper explores how combining smart device deployment with thoughtful program design can deliver tangible results, including:
- Reduced frequency of water-related insurance claims
- Lower average claim severity when incidents do occur
- Valuable usage and risk data to refine underwriting models
- Improved outcomes for policyholders through faster leak detection and automatic shutoff
The report also outlines what these results could mean for an insurer’s overall book of business and potential cost savings if similar performance is replicated at scale.
A Shift Toward Data-Driven Risk Prevention
As the insurance industry grapples with persistent profitability pressures, solutions like the Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor represent a growing trend toward technology-enabled prevention rather than purely post-loss recovery.
Insurers interested in exploring how smart water technology can turn non-weather water losses from a stubborn cost center into a controllable, data-driven opportunity can download the full white paper.
By Mark Smith Follow us on X @realnewshubs and subscribe for push notifications
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