Although as a property owner applying for insurance coverage you may look at a thorough property inspection as a nuisance or an unnecessary waste of your time, an in-depth inspection can provide you with beneficial information you may not otherwise easily obtain. Potential risks that could cause future losses may be uncovered and end up saving you from suffering these future losses. Consider the following:
- Doing an infrared (IR) scan of electrical panels may catch early signs of hotspots indicating potential problems such as faulty wiring or overloaded circuits. Advanced inspection technology such as IR equipment is becoming more prolific and affordable for use in building inspections.
- A detailed roof inspection can uncover signs of potential leaking or water damage or evidence of hail or wind damage. Catching these problems early on can end up saving loads down the road and let you know what type of roof maintenance, if any, is likely needed now. Advances in property inspection technology make checking a roof both quicker and easier than in the past. These advancements include digital cameras and smartphones that can be attached to long poles for easy reach and drones that can provide an effective “eye in the sky.” This saves inspectors having to actually climb out on the roof – especially risky during inclement weather.
- A thorough exterior property inspection can uncover any property damage or potential liability areas that may not be readily visible. Camera-carrying drones can make a complete inspection of the property and surrounding area much quicker and easier than with yesterday’s dated inspection techniques.
Insurer Benefits
Effective property insurance underwriting depends on how well you, as an underwriter, understand the risk of loss represented by any property you’re considering insuring. Evolving inspection technology makes getting the information needed to make an accurate risk assessment more likely, which is a major benefit insurers receive when contracting with a quality property insurance inspection company like Insurance Risk Services. Our goal is to work toward helping our clients reduce their risk exposure by helping them avoid economic losses by fully understanding and mitigating that risk exposure.
Improved Property Inspection Technology
Improvements in property inspection technology include a variety of tools ranging from specially designed computer software that assists in compiling risk assessment data to smart phones used to transmit that data in real time to insurance underwriters. Smart phones are also effective in providing digital images from indoor and outdoor visual inspections, both from inspectors to insurance underwriters as well as from property owners performing self inspections to their insurer.
Increased effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of drones has totally changed the nature of rooftop and area-from-above inspections. Use of drones makes property inspections quicker, easier and safer to conduct. When coupled with an on-board smart phone, they’re fantastic inspection tools.
At Insurance Risk Services we’re always looking at the best ways to using emerging technologies to improve our inspection services. Call to learn what we can do to aid in your risk assessment strategies.
