The average consumer views insurance as a reactive product. A pipe bursts. A fire starts. They file a claim, and their carrier helps them to recover and rebuild.
That captures the core of the insurance value proposition, but it overlooks a key element: the role insurers play in preventing losses before they happen. This is critically important, few homeowners realize there are simple, effective steps they can take to protect their homes from these losses.
As customer expectations evolve and preventable losses continue to impact homeowners, insurers across the industry are beginning to rethink their role — not simply as organizations that pay covered claims, but as organizations that help customers avoid losses altogether.
Recognizing this shift, we've expanded our portfolio of risk management tools and resources, — including two smart sensors: Ting (electrical fire prevention) and LeakBot (leak detection) — to help policyholders1 identify hidden risks and intervene before losses occur.
“Helping customers recover after a loss will always be at the heart of what we do,” says Corey Vigliucci, AVP Sales and Underwriting for Westfield Personal Lines. “But if we can help prevent that loss from happening in the first place, that's an even better outcome. That's why we're investing in practical solutions that help homeowners and farmowners identify hidden risks before they become losses. It's another way we're helping protect what matters most.2 "
Here’s what that looks like in action.
Ting: Preventing electrical fires
Every 10 minutes, a family in the United States is impacted by an electrical fire. The average electrical fire claim costs approximately $215,000, according to Triple-I, and that’s only the
financial damage. The emotional devastation homeowners face when losing their home to a fire is immeasurable.
To help homeowners mitigate the risk of devastating electrical fires, we worked with Ting Labs to offer Ting, its electrical fire prevention system, to all its eligible personal lines and farm insurance policyholders.
Ting detects hidden electrical hazards before they escalate into fires. The system combines a smart sensor, a mobile app, an advanced signal analysis and a fire safety team that works with homeowners in real time to help identify and mitigate risks.
Simple by design, the smart sensor plugs into any standard outlet and uses advanced technology to identify electrical arcing, faulty wiring, failing outlets and other hidden hazards that homeowners might never detect.
On average, Ting sends fire hazard alerts to approximately one in 60 homeowners each year. About one in 27 of those alerts would have resulted in a fire if the hazard was undetected.
The value extends beyond homeowners. These tools also help equip agents to have more proactive risk management conversations with customers.
"This investment also creates meaningful value for our agents by equipping them to have more proactive risk management conversations with customers,” said Dave Ruppel, AVP Sales and Underwriting for Westfield Agribusiness. “By identifying potential issues before a loss occurs, agencies can reinforce their role as trusted advisors, deepen customer relationships and help improve long-term customer retention."
Matthew Boyert, CEO and founder of Boyert Insurance Group, experienced the benefits of Ting firsthand. One day, while meeting with a client, Boyert received a Ting alert on his phone, that read “Fire detected!”
“I rushed home with my heart beating at 100 miles an hour,” he recalls. He immediately called the Ting support team and learned the alert was for a potential fire hazard.
When Boyert arrived home, a Ting representative helped him isolate the issue, which turned out to be an electrical outlet with loose wiring that was actively arcing.
“If I didn’t have that device, I would not have known there was arcing that could have caused a catastrophic fire,” Boyert reflects. “We could have lost our house, our memories, everything.”
Stories like this resonate with homeowners and help reinforce the importance of proactive risk management.
Matthew Mangus, president of Miller’s Insurance Agency, has seen what happens when electrical fire hazards go undetected. In the past two years, he has seen two clients lose their homes in fires caused by electrical failures.
“I’ve met with clients two days after their homes burned down,” he reflects. “Seeing their mindset as they figure out what to do next is heartbreaking.”
Since launching its Ting offering in May 2024, we’ve enrolled more than 21,000 Westfield customers in the program. During that time, we’ve identified nearly 200 potential “saves” across both electrical and utility fire hazards, including panel failures, faulty outlets and wiring issues.
LeakBot: Tackling hidden water losses
Although fire presents one of the most disastrous risks, water damage is among the most common and costly. Non-weather water damage, such as plumbing failures, appliance leaks or burst pipes, is the second leading cause of homeowners’ insurance claims in the U.S., accounting for approximately 23%-28% of all claims, according to Consumer Affairs.
Triple I reports the average non-weather water damage claim is approximately $15,400, with hidden leaks behind walls or beneath floors often triggering the worst losses.
That’s where LeakBot, a smart water leak detection solution, comes in. The technology helps homeowners identify non-weather-related leaks, often before any visible signs of damage emerge. Earlier this year, we began offering LeakBot to eligible policyholders in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. In just a short time, more than 5,000 homeowners have enrolled.
When a leak is detected, homeowners gain access to a support team and specially trained plumbers who help diagnose and resolve the problem before it escalates into a major claim.
The technology’s simplicity is part of its appeal. LeakBot installs in minutes by clipping onto a home’s main water pipe, with no tools or plumbing expertise needed. Once installed, it quietly monitors the home in the background.
For agents, that simplicity is a major advantage. It makes it easier to introduce homeowners to risk prevention and demonstrate added value beyond the policy itself.
According to Consumer Affairs, fewer than 20% of homeowners take steps to avoid leaks, such as plumbing inspections or installing leak detection systems, despite approximately 65% of water damage incidents being considered preventable. By offering a simple tool like LeakBot, agents are well-positioned to help change those statistics.
“I’m telling my Westfield customers about LeakBot, and there’s a lot of interest,” says Boyert. “There are not many carriers that offer one, let alone two, preventive risk management devices free of charge to their insureds. Kudos to Westfield for that.”
The agent opportunity: Moving beyond the policy
For independent agents, pre-emptive risk management tools like Ting and LeakBot transform the conversation from transactional to advisory, creating more frequent, meaningful touchpoints with customers and reshapes how they deliver value.
Data plays an important role in making those risks tangible. When customers understand how common and costly these losses are, prevention becomes easier to appreciate.
“Insurance is an intangible product. You’re basically selling a promise,” says Boyert. “Tools like this give us something tangible that we can offer to clients to give them additional peace of mind.”
Agencies can strengthen relationships and build trust over time by introducing solutions that actively help protect customers. By equipping agencies with carrier-backed risk management solutions, insurers are enabling agents to go beyond transactional interactions and position themselves as long-term advisors.
“It’s a great retention tool,” says Mangus. “As an agency owner, I’m always interested in two elements. Can this help our clients, and will it help with retention? With both, that’s a win-win.”
Customers who embrace risk protection often become more loyal to both the agency and the carrier. “The customers who recognize the value these solutions provide — and understand that Westfield introduced them to the concept — often become more loyal to both Westfield and, by extension, Miller’s Insurance Agency,” Mangus explains.
By equipping agents with practical risk-prevention tools and resources, we're helping redefine the role agents play — from policy providers to trusted risk advisors. As personal lines continue to evolve, carriers that help customers prevent losses, not just recover from them, will help define the next generation of insurance value.
For more information, visit Sign Up For Ting Fire Prevention & Safety Technology
About the author:
Casey Burke is Director of Standard Lines Marketing at Westfield, where he helps shape marketing strategies that support customers, independent agents and the evolving needs of the insurance marketplace. He brings more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience, including more than a decade in the insurance industry. Throughout his career, Casey has focused on connecting customer insights, business strategy and practical solutions to drive growth, strengthen relationships and deliver meaningful value
