Ondo InsurTech PLC on Thursday said it signed an exclusive deal with Firemark Collective to run a new LeakBot proof-of-concept pilot for Australia and New Zealand markets.
Shares in the London-based claims prevention technology for home insurers were up 5.7% to 19.56 pence each in London on Thursday late morning.
Ondo InsurTech said Firemark chose LeakBot, a smart water leak alarm that spots hidden leaks before they become big problems, as their chosen solution to help prevent water damage claims.
Firemark is the innovation and venturing arm of Insurance Australia Group Ltd, the largest general insurance company in Australia and New Zealand, according to Ondo InsurTech.
Under this fully funded deal, Ondo InsurTech said the testing and development of an outside ‘All Weather’ version of the LeakBot product will be trialled over the next 12 months. All intellectual property created as part of the development will be owned by Ondo InsurTech.
Ondo InsurTech noted that plumbing in Australia is different in the UK. This is because the supply pipe and stop tap are usually external to the property.
‘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,’ said Ondo InsurTech Chief Executive Officer Craig Foster.
‘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.’
Ondo InsurTech has provided many updates on its Leakbot product within the last month.
Earlier in mid-June, Ondo InsurTech said it signed on for a temporary pilot programme with G4S Ltd, in order to test a potential business model for Leakbot in Denmark.
Over the course of the one-month programme, Ondo will test whether G4S can use the offer of the installation of a free LeakBot to incentivise customers of an unnamed insurer to accept an in-home security assessment visit.
If successful, the ’Free LeakBot’ offer will be marketed to this insurer’s customers at scale, becoming a key part of G4S Shield’s customer growth activities in Denmark.
In early June, Ondo InsurTech also won a deal with Mutual of Enumclaw to distribute its LeakBot system to homeowner insurance customers in Washington State, US.
Ondo InsurTech said Mutual of Enumclaw will deliver 10,000 devices for installation in its customers’ homes. Units are expected to be installed in the six months starting from August, it said.
Also in early June, Ondo InsurTech said results from the Portsmouth Water LeakBot pilot showed a 60% reduction in the number of leaks, calling for £100 million to install the technology across the UK.
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
