Smart home is an idea that is slowly getting into the mainstream as more people are adopting it. Having a smart home not only means that your home will be more secure, but you will also get to enjoy other benefits. These benefits involve having a much simpler life and rewards from insurance agencies, such as insurance discounts.
Today, it’s easier to install smart home devices such as smoke detectors, leak monitors, and thermostats. These smart devices keep an eye on your home so that you can get to act on time in case something happens. Taking timely action means that you are very unlikely to file to your insurance provider any expensive claims.
The smart home devices provide a win-win situation not only for you but also for your insurance provider. It is for this reason that the insurance provider is motivated to offer insurance discounts.
You should know that the discount provided vary from one home insurance company to the other. But before we get into that, it’s vital you know which insurance companies offer such deals.
Which insurance companies offer deals?
As a smart homeowner looking for good home insurance deals, you generally have limited options. This is because as of the moment, not all insurance providers offer discounts on smart home policies. The insurance providers that do so are American Family Insurance, Travelers Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Progressive Insurance, and Farmers Insurance.
American Family Insurance
American Family Insurance is one of the most popular insurance providers in the country today. AmFam is based in Wisconsin and was founded in 1927. Throughout it’s close to a century of existence, this company has built a name for itself as a top-notch private mutual insurance agency providing industry-leading insurance services.
These insurance services include property insurance such as business and home insurance and also health, life, and auto insurance.
American Family was among the first companies in the insurance sector to embrace
smart home devices. As a matter of fact, this insurance provider has been promoting the adoption of smart home devices by its customers. This strategy has seen AmFam provide better services to its clients and also grow its market share.
What deals does AmFam offer?
As a smart homeowner, you are eligible to an up to 5 % discount if you choose
American Family as your home insurance provider. This 5 % discount is calculated from your annual premium.
For you to qualify for the 5 % discount, you need to have installed all the necessary smart devices. If you have done part of the required installation, you may get a 2 % or 3 % discount.
You might be thinking that it is going to cost you a lot to install smart devices in your home and the 5 % discount isn’t worth it. You are wrong. To begin with, home smart devices are somewhat affordable.
Assuming your annual home insurance premium is $1000, with the 5 % discount, you will have recovered the cost of your smart home devices in less than five years. Isn’t that a sweet deal?
What equipment do you need to qualify for AmFam’s deal?
There are numerous smart home devices available in the market today. You should know that just installing any of them in your home won’t give you a chance for enjoying the 5 % discount. To qualify for the rebate, American Family Insurance requires that you have the following smart devices installed in your house:
- A smart leak detector – A smart home device for detecting water leakages.
- A smart smoke detector – This smart device is meant to detect smoke, which is usually brought by a fire in your home.
- A smart thermostat – This is meant to monitor the temperature of your home smartly and therefore improve your energy efficiency. Check out these other ways to improve your energy efficiency and save money.
- Smart CCTV – A smart home security camera works to improve the general security of your home
How much can you save on your insurance bill?
As mentioned earlier, if your annual insurance cost is $1000, you will have broken even on the insurance cost in under 5 years. What comes after this is pure savings for you. You probably will be insuring your home for the rest of your life. When you look at things from this perspective, in the end, you will have saved a substantial amount of money.
For instance, if you are paying an annual premium of $1000 and you stick with your policy for 30 years, then the 5 % discount means that you will have saved at least $1500 throughout this period. This is money that you can redirect to improving the other aspects of your home.
Travelers Insurance
Travelers Insurance is another notable property insurance service provider that you can opt for. Their insurance services cover home, auto, condo, renters and landlords. Travelers Insurance prides itself as being the insurance provider that cares. The company has been in the insurance business for more than 160 years and stood the taste of time.
For more than one and a half-century that this company has existed, it has survived by embracing change. As smart homes started becoming a thing, Travelers Insurance went ahead to embrace them too. This insurance provider currently provides its clients who have smart homes with premium discounts.
What deals do Travelers offer?
By settling for this company as your home insurance provider, you can expect a 3 % discount at most if you have a smart home. Yes, this discount percentage is lower than what is provided by American Family and other insurance providers on this list. Despite this, it’s still better than nothing.
The 3 % discount means that if you have $1,083 as your average annual premium, you can expect to save $30 per year. The lower savings means that it will take you longer to break even on your investment in smart home devices. This doesn’t mean that this deal isn’t worth it as there are more goodies provided here.
What equipment do you need to qualify for this deal?
In 2018, Travelers Insurance announced that it was entering into a partnership with Amazon, which is one of the dominant smart devices’ makers. In this deal, as a Travelers home insurance client, you would be provided with a free Amazon Echo Dot. In addition to this, as a policyholder, you will get discounts on the smart home kits that purchase on Amazon’s e-commerce site.
The free Echo Dot, the discounts on smart home kit purchases, and the 3 % discount surely do make the offer by Travelers Insurance very tempting.
Insights on the Travelers-Amazon deal
To begin with, you can only enjoy the discount if you are in the following 25 states:
Alabama, Arizona, California – only the first 15,000 customers are eligible, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Here are the smart kit packages and discounts
| Package |
Contents |
Retail price |
Discount price |
| Smart Kit |
Echo Dot, SmartThings Hub, Wyze Camera, and SmartThings Water Sensor |
$166 |
$135 (-$31) |
| Smart Kit Plus |
Echo Dot, SmartThings Motion Sensor, 2 SmartThings Water Sensor, 2 Wyze Camera, and SmartThings Hub |
$237 |
$198
(-$39) |
| Smart Kit Premier |
Echo Dot, 2 Wyze Camera, 2 SmartThings Water Sensor, 2 SmartThings Motion Sensor, Ring Doorbell, and SmartThings Hub. |
$362 |
$320
(-$42) |
Going for any of the packages mentioned above if you live in the 25 named states will guarantee you a discount for your home insurance premiums. You should keep in mind that:
You are eligible to get a better discount deal from Travelers insurance if your smart home devices are centrally monitored. This is why the SmartThings Hub is included in all the packages as it provides a single point of monitoring.
Additionally, the discounts to your annual premiums will take into account what risks your home is exposed to. This means that if you live in a safe neighborhood with low incidences of burglary but high risks of flooding, you are bound to enjoy a better discount on a smart water monitor, than a smart security camera.
Most of the time, discounts addressing the same risk do not combine. In this case, if you have a traditional fire alarm, buying a smart fire alarm does not mean that you are eligible for a better discount.
How much can you save on your Travelers insurance bill?
If you decide to go to Travelers insurance for your home coverage, you will not enjoy discounts on your yearly premiums but also on your smart home devices. You will be liable to a $31, $39, $42 discount depending on the smart home kit you choose from Amazon. You will also get a 3% discount from your annual premium payment.
You should know that with central monitoring devices installed at your home, you will get a slightly better discount. Here is a comparison of saving from a $1,193 sample base premium from Travelers Insurance.
| Devices |
Eligible % discount |
Savings on $1,193 premium |
| Smart Kit including smart water shut off and cameras |
3.1% |
$37 |
| Central smoke alarm, water sensor, and fire alarm |
4.4% |
$54 |
Breaking down Travelers’ base home insurance policy
How much you save also depend on the weight of the perils included in your home insurance policy. Here is a broken-down base premium $1,193 so that you can better understand the influence of risks on how much you are able to save on your policy. Keep in mind that in different states, different perils have been given different weights. The more the weight of risk, the bigger the allocation from the total premium you pay.
| Peril |
Rate |
| Fire |
$455 |
| Wildfire |
$43 |
| Water damage not resulting from the weather |
$278 |
| Water damage resulting from the weather |
$72 |
| Liability |
$96 |
| Theft |
$48 |
| Hail |
$48 |
| Wind |
$96 |
| Tornado |
$1 |
| Water backup |
$16 |
| Other |
$40 |
| Insurance premium total |
$1,193 |
Taking the break-down above into account, the total cost of your policy will vary depending on the particular perils and the discount applied. For instance, if you choose to install smart burglar alarms, you will get a 1% discount on the theft peril, which is $48 the total $1,193 premium. In this case, your discount will be 1% of $48, which roughly 50 cents.
On the other hand, if you choose to install a central burglar alarm, you will be liable to a 5 % discount, which is five times what you get with the smart burglar alarm. Here, the 5 % discount on the $48 theft peril translates to $2.50 savings.
In addition to this, let’s say you live in the state of Utah, water damage not resulting from the weather will make up for the more substantial part of your premium. Therefore, the water sensors you install will significantly influence your average savings.
If you install a central water sensor plus a smart water shut-off, you will be liable to a discount of 15% on the water damage not resulting from the weather peril. You will be able to save around $42 when this discount is applied.
In some cases, each home has its own unique peril weight. This mainly is influenced by the location of the house. It is for this reason that you must request for sample quotes from Travelers Insurance so that you get to know which perils get you the best discount in your location.
You should do this before fitting your home with smart monitoring devices as it will guide your decision making.
Nationwide Insurance
Nationwide Insurance is based in Columbus, Ohio, and is famous for providing excellent insurance services across the country. Apart from its main headquarters, Nationwide also has regional offices in San Antonio, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Westerville, Ohio; Sacramento, California; Gainesville, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina.
This insurance provider has been so successful over the years and is currently one of the Fortune 100 companies. Among the insurance services that this company provides are homeowners, auto,
pet, renters, business, motorcycle, condo, and life.
If you are planning to take a home insurance policy, you should know that Nationwide also provides discounts if you make home upgrades.
What deals does Nationwide offer?
Nationwide Insurance provides up to a 5 % discount to customers who install smart upgrades to their homes. The company advises you as a customer to work with your insurance agent to take better advantage of premium discounts and other available benefits.
Having the assistance of an insurance expert could see you get substantial discounts that can lower your annual premiums significantly.
In addition to this, Nationwide Insurance provides the following strategies to its homeowners so that they can get better discounts for their smart home upgrades. They include:
Improving home security
According to Nationwide Insurance, a homeowner who has put in place home security systems is bound to get a better discount. The security systems should be able to alert not only the homeowner but also first responders in case any case of a harmful situation.
The detection and reporting capabilities of the security system installed by the homeowner will influence how much discount they are to receive.
Improving disaster preparedness at your home
Natural disasters are more common today than ever before, thanks to global warming, and sadly, no home is disaster-proof. Despite this, your home can be able to withstand most of the disasters if you improve its disaster preparedness. This will result in better discounts on your home insurance policy from Nationwide.
Undertaking modernization of your home if it’s older is one of the best ways that you can improve its disaster preparedness. According to Nationwide Insurance, you should focus your modernization upgrading on your electrical systems, heating, and plumbing. This is because, in the event of the slightest disaster, faulty electrical, heating or plumbing can cause more damage.
Review your policy annually
As a home insurance policyholder, Nationwide Insurance advises that you renew your policy annually. This will give you a chance to get the latest discount offering, which in most cases is usually higher than previously. As smart home technology keeps getting better, so does the confidence of insurance providers, and thus resulting in better discounts.
Apart from this, nationwide reviews the weight of different perils on its policy annually. This means that you can be able to get the best discount if you renew your policy every year.
What equipment do you need to get nationwide premium discounts?
Nationwide Insurance offers premium discounts for homeowners who install smoke detectors, burglar alarms, and fire alarms in their homes. This insurance provider advises that you consult with your insurance agent if you are looking to get the best discounts.
As mentioned earlier, the ability of the smart home upgrades that you make to detect and alert you and the first responders in case of harm will play a significant role in the discounts that you are bound to get.
How much can you save on your insurance bill with nationwide discounts?
How much you save on your annual premium if you do smart upgrades to your home as a client of Nationwide will depend on several factors. To begin with, how much weight is given to each peril on your insurance policy? Moreover, the specific smart upgrades that you do to your home and how well is your home.
If you do everything right with the advice of your insurance agent you could be able to hit the 5 % maximum discount. Nationwide’s average annual home insurance premium is $1,173. If the 5 % discount is applied to this premium, you will be able to save roughly $53. In 20 years, you will have saved $1,173.
This means that in your 21st year of taking your home insurance policy with Nationwide Insurance, you will be paying your annual premiums from your savings. Keep in mind that to achieve this, you have to be very meticulous on the smart upgrades that you do to your home to get the best discounts.
Progressive Insurance
Progressive Insurance is undoubtedly one of the most dominant insurance companies in the country right now. The company currently boasts of having more than 18 million customers all over the United States.
Progressive started its business in the insurance sector in 1937 and today provides insurance coverage for auto, home, renters, condo, motorcycle, boat, RV, life, pet, and also commercial insurance.
This insurance provider’s home policies are known to be one of the best that you can find. Among the many reasons for this is the generous discount that the company offers to homeowners who do smart home upgrades to their homes.
It’s also the first insurance company to accommodate both Amazon Echo and Google Home smart hub in its discount considerations. Progressive Insurance even has the “Smart Technology Discount” which extends beyond just smart home upgrades.
What smart home insurance discounts does Progressive offer?
With many factors taken into consideration, as a homeowner, you can benefit from an up to 5% discount on your annual premium from Progressive Insurance. You should know that the 5% discount is on the higher side, most homeowners get a 2.5% to 3.5% discount with the lucky few getting past 4%.
Apart from Progressive earning the prestige of being the first home insurance provider to accommodate Google Assistant-powered devices, the deal also brought some goodies for you as a homeowner.
The insurance provider mentioned that through its partnership with Google; its customers will be able to get tips on their home and auto insurance directly from Google Home smart hubs. These home and auto insurance tips are meant to help you as a customer get the best discounts possible.
“Google, let me talk to Progressive”
To get the home and auto insurance tips from your Google Home assistant, all you have to say is: “Google, let me talk to Progressive.” You can also be able to get tips on other home and auto insurance related stuff like home buying, maintenance, moving, and car buying. It is such tips that can help you maximize your smart home discounts as a home insurance policyholder.
What equipment do you need to qualify for the discounts?
Progressive Insurance offers higher discounts for
smart home security systems. The discount rate is not standard, and it will depend on how effective your smart security system is. This insurance company also advices you to consult with your insurance agent to make sure that you have a chance of getting the maximum discount.
Apart from smart security systems, smart leak monitor and fire detectors will also earn you a discount. If you combine all of the mentioned smart monitoring devices, your discount should be higher too. Just so you know, if you take your home and car insurance policy from Progressive, you might be liable to a 10 % discount on your total annual premium.
How much can you save on your insurance bill?
Depending on the state that you live in, your home, your Progressive home insurance bill will range between $604 in Utah and $2,006 in Louisiana. Given this disparity, how much you save will depend on where you live and also the smart upgrades that you do to your home.
With an average of an annual premium of around $1,150 and a discount of 5 %, you can save averagely $57. If you get the Smart Technologies Discount of 10 %, your savings may be a little higher depending on the premium of your car insurance.
Farmers Insurance
Closing the top 5 list of insurance companies providing premium discounts for smart homeowners is Farmers Insurance. This insurance provider started its operations in 1928 and has its headquarters in Woodland Hills, California. This company’s prosperity throughout the 90 years can be attributed to its focus on providing its clients with a personalized experience.
Farmers Insurance provides good discounts to its home policyholders who take the step of installing smart upgrades to their homes. As a homeowner looking for a worthy insurance company to rely on, Farmers is worth a consideration.
What deals does Farmers Insurance offer?
With this insurance provider, you will also be getting a 5 % discount on your home insurance policy. As a home insurance policyholder, Farmers Insurance advises that you do the following so that you can maximize your discounts.
Don’t smoke in your home
Numerous studies in the past have indicated that smoking significantly increases the risk of fires at home. In the year 2014, smoking is believed to have caused at least 172,000 home fires of those reported to the U.S. fire departments all over the country.
If you don’t smoke and install smart home upgrades, you will definitely get better discounts on your annual premiums from Farmers Insurance.
Purchase more than one policy line
You will get a better discount on your annual premium from Farmers Insurance if you go ahead and purchase more than one policy line, multi-policy. This will make you eligible for a multiline discount on top of your smart home upgrade discount. This means that your overall discount will be much higher.
Check for any additional discounts
Farmers Insurance provides additional discounts for a number of reasons, one of them being your profession. Depending on your job, your smart home upgrades may give a slightly higher discount rate than what you would typically get. It’s not just about the profession as several other factors may also contribute to this. You can find out these factors from your insurance agent.
What smart home equipment do you need?
Enhancing your home safety and security with smart upgrades is the surest way to get better premiums on your annual premium. Knowing which equipment, you need is also vital as not all smart upgrades are eligible for discounts from Farmers Insurance. This home insurance policy provider advices that you install the following equipment to maximize smart home upgrades discounts.
- Install smart home security systems that not only detect intrusion but alerts the local police station immediately in such an event.
- Install a fire alarm that is directly connected to your local fire station. This is so that in case of a fire, your local fire station can get notified immediately
Having a smart home security camera that is linked to your local police station alongside having deadbolts and sturdy locks on your windows and doors will also give you a better home insurance discount from Farmers Insurance.
How much can you save with Farmers Discounts?
Given the combination of factors that Farmers Insurance takes into account when calculating your insurance discount alongside your smart home upgrades discount; you can easily save up to 10 % of your annual premium. Of this 10 %, up to 5 % can be made of your smart home discount.
The additional discounts related to it will add up the other 5 %. This extra 5 % will be made up by contributors like multi-policy and leakage protection. For you to be able to enjoy such high discounts on your home insurance policy from Farmers insurance, you need the guidance of your insurance agent.
How much can you save on your annual premium?
With Farmers Insurance, it’s not as hard to hit the 5 % discount they provide for smart home upgrades. The home insurance policies from this company are designed this way to encourage you to go ahead with the smart upgrades.
With an average home insurance premium of $1200, the 5 % discount means that you can be able to save roughly $60. The average insurance premium for Farmers Insurance is a bit higher as they are more precise when it comes to calculating the total worth of your home.
Verdict
Going with either of the five insurance providers mentioned above is an excellent choice given that that they all offer good discounts. Even though the directly discount from a company like Travelers may seem low at averagely 3.5 %, they make up for this with their discounts in smart home kits.
The most important thing when trying to get the best discount from any of the providers above is consulting with your insurance agent. The technical know-how of your insurance agent will come in handy in making sure that you get the maximum discount on your annual premium that you can.
The multi-policy discount from Farmers Insurance is one where you absolutely need advice from your insurance agent. The Smart Technologies Discount from Progressive Insurance can also be a good option.
