Every construction site has risks – but water damage losses play an outsized role in Builder's Risk loss ratios. When water flows where it shouldn’t, expenses add up fast. That means a project takes longer and costs more. Occupancy may be delayed. Plans revised. Insurers face big claims. The cost of risk for the contractor goes up. It’s bad for everybody.
That all changes today with the entry of Insight Risk to the Builder’s Risk market.
We are a technology-focused Builder’s Risk MGA that has solved the largest problem hindering widescale technology adoption: how to pay for it.
Ours is the first-ever solution to combine comprehensive Builder’s Risk insurance coverage with industry tested Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to reduce or eliminate water damage losses.
We deploy state-of-the-art sensors at no cost to contractors, brokers, or insurers. When our sensors detect water where there isn’t supposed to be water, or conditions like temperature or humidity which could lead to water problems, alerts enable rapid response, minimizing the risk and saving you money.
Our goal is simple: to reduce water damage losses on Builder’s Risk projects by 90 percent.
Our approach is different because we take ownership of the entire process. This empowers us to select and deploy the most effective water damage prevention solutions for each project. By overseeing all aspects of identification, purchase, installation, and monitoring of loss reducing IoT solutions, we ensure your project has the right level of coverage.
In addition to deploying loss reducing IoT technologies, our veteran underwriting, technology, distribution, claims, and management teams will work with you to identify effective risk management strategies and ultimately lower Total Cost of Risk (TCOR).
And when a potential loss does occur, the immediate notification provided by our water detection technology allows us to proactively mitigate losses in real time.
What do we mean when we say “take full ownership of the entire process”? Here is the nitty-gritty of our new approach.
We work with you to develop a Water Damage Prevention and Response Plan (WDPreP) - a customized written process to mitigate the effects of water intrusion, water leaks, and broken pipes that might arise during construction. As part of this plan, and in collaboration with you and our technology vendor’s engineers, we will design and schedule installation of a customized IoT solution for your project. Once the design and plan are finalized, we present it to you and your broker representative for review.
Installation of your IoT solution generally occurs after achieving 50 percent completion or when water lines are charged. Thirty days out from this milestone, a dedicated Insight Risk loss control representative will confirm water meter installation and water line charging and then work with the site representative to schedule both installation and a pre-installation planning meeting.
While each project will have a customized solution, most plans will likely include two key pieces of hardware: First, wireless “puck” -type sensors that are placed in areas with high-value equipment, elevated water sources, and rooms with a higher-than-normal likelihood of a water event. Second, cellular communication relay devices - positioned one relay per three to four floors - that connect and communicate with sensors, gather sensor data, and transmit the information to the cloud.
Each device will undergo non-invasive installation at locations identified in the WDPreP, activation, confirmation of connectivity, and labeling by its location – all performed in less than a day by an Insight Risk loss control representative. In collaboration with the technology vendor, Insight Risk will monitor device sensors 24/7 and if an alert occurs, your WDPreP will initiate, triggering real-time notification of designated first responders and further monitoring by Insight Risk to ensure prompt response.
An important component of the technology installation is our team’s mid-project loss control survey to evaluate general site conditions and offer non-binding observations for risk improvement. These surveys are tailored to the size of your project and provide us with enhanced information on schedule issues, design changes, and other information the application process may have missed – and helps us help you keep TCOR under control.
Ongoing discussions with contractors, owners, and our distribution partners showed high demand for IoT solutions when there is no additional cost to the insured or broker, and technology deployment does not interfere with operations or the construction schedule.
The solution we developed bundles technology with insurance, eliminate those barriers, and becomes the first one-stop loss prevention and risk transfer solution. It was an approach that was quickly validated.
Our experts have direct experience with more than 100 IoT deployments which showed an almost tenfold return on technology cost and a significant reduction in water damage loss frequency and severity. Vendor data showed similar results over a much broader base of projects.
We even have a case study in which a Major Loss Averted Construction was 80 percent complete on a multi-story luxury apartment building, with lower floors already occupied by tenants. On a weekend afternoon, an IoT sensor detected water in an upper floor room. The site team responded immediately to the alert and found a flooded room with a broken joint on a temporary water line. The water source was shut off and cleanup began. Although minor costs were incurred, the loss averted was $10,000,000 according to the insurer’s estimate. The full cost of the IoT solution was $11,000 – a fraction of the full loss estimate.
Insight Risk believes in leveraging technology to improve risk control. Better risk control leads to better financial outcomes. And the best way to do that? Forming long-term relationships with brokers, carriers, contractors, owner-developers, and other stakeholders who wish to reduce their total cost of risk.
We are surplus lines licensed in 48 states and are backed by A+ rated Munich Re Specialty Group Insurance Services, with current distribution by Marsh McLennan Agency and American Global.
We offer up to $50 million in capacity for superior, four-walled construction – noncombustible, masonry noncombustible, fire resistive – residential, commercial, office, educational, and hospital occupancies with project values up to $125 million.
The Insight Risk team has over 150 years of combined experience in insurance, technology, construction, and claims. Each of us holds a long, proven track record of innovation success. And chances are good that you know who we are and what we can do. We look forward to working with you and being your partner in reducing and managing water damage loss. Reach out to us today.
203-247-6659
Insight Risk Technologies LLC
2 Park Avenue
Suite 2009 & 2012
New York, NY 10016
2024 © Insight Risk