Ondo Insurtech has announced that Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE Insurance) is expanding its LeakBot program beyond downstate New York to include Indiana, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
LeakBot is a sensor that attaches to a pipe near a home’s main water supply to detect hidden leaks before they lead to major claims. PURE Insurance provides the device and associated plumbing repair services to eligible members at no cost.
Water damage remains the most frequent and costly cause of loss for its members, PURE Insurance head of loss prevention solutions Jack Willis said, and this partnership offers a tool to help mitigate those risks.
Ondo CEO Craig Foster (pictured above) highlighted PURE Insurance’s approach to proactive risk management and shared risk modelling has led to high levels of member engagement compared to other insurers.
LeakBot was also the previous branding of insurtech before its acquisition by Spinnaker Acquisitions Plc, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in 2022. The buyout was also notable as it made Ondo Insurtech the first ever to go public in the UK.
Ondo is partnered with nine blue-chip insurers - among them Hiscox, Direct Line and TopDanmark - across the UK, Ireland, US and Scandinavia, and supplies around 39,000 devices to its insurer partner.
The insurtech has raised £3.4 million through fundraising at 12p per share during its IPO, and had a market capitalization (at the issue price) of around £8.2 million.
In 2023, Ondo also announced a proof-of-concept pilot with IAG-owned Firemark Collective to help prevent water damage claims in Australia and New Zealand. The pilot also utilized LeakBot, using an outside, all-weather version to accommodate for the different plumbing systems in the region.
“Australia was not part of our roadmap but when approached by one of the largest insurance companies in the region wanting to partner with us exclusively, it makes perfect sense for us to stand up this project. Beyond Australia, we can also see the applicability of this product version in other hot climatic regions like Southern Europe where the stop taps are also outside,” Foster said.
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