{"id":712,"date":"2021-06-10T11:09:25","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T11:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/?p=712"},"modified":"2026-03-18T11:46:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:46:45","slug":"being-smart-about-your-smart-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/2021\/06\/10\/being-smart-about-your-smart-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Being smart about your smart home"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-713 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/unnamed-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"766\" height=\"1788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/unnamed-3.jpg 766w, https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/unnamed-3-129x300.jpg 129w, https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/unnamed-3-439x1024.jpg 439w, https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/unnamed-3-658x1536.jpg 658w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smart homes offer three fundamental promises:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Convenience:<\/strong>\u00a0Being able to control multiple functions \u2013 such as the lights, the use of appliances, home security and more \u2013 with a button, app or your voice<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Resource efficiency:<\/strong>\u00a0Optimising the use of heat, light and water<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Security:<\/strong>\u00a0Being able to control every aspect of your home\u2019s security in real time, and on any device<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home automation and energy management \u2013 such as smart lighting, temperature control, TV channel recommendations, warnings that appliances have been left on, and so on \u2013 will define the homes of the future. Overlay that integrated functionality with big data and artificial intelligence (AI), and your home will get to know you and your habits better and better, and eventually there will be no place like your smart home.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The central concept to smart technology is the Internet of Things (IoT): the inter-connectedness of billions and billions of devices via the Internet, to create intelligent, integrated network ecosystems that can sense, evaluate and act either automatically, or at your command.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was previously estimated that in 2020, as many as 50-billion devices \u2013 including toasters, refrigerators, TV sets, anything containing a microchip \u2013 will be able to \u201ctalk\u201d to each other and be combined to benefit humanity in ways that we\u2019re only beginning to imagine. And it\u2019s in the home where many of us will directly notice the great changes that the IoT promises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve bought a smart home, or are converting your standard home into a smart one, bear in mind that there may be insurance implications. Because insurance products focused on smart technology are in their infancy globally, you may need to review your cover \u2013 so it\u2019s a really good idea to obtain the advice of a broker.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Standard home insurance typically includes cover against damage to your home, and theft of and damage to your personal belongings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But a smart home isn\u2019t standard (not yet, at least), so speak to your broker about \u2026<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>\u2026 Understanding your cover<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a matter of course, you should always fulfil the obligations of your insurance policy; it\u2019s the only way you\u2019ll ever be 100% sure you\u2019ll be paid out in the event of a claim.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speak to your broker about whether or not your smart home meets your policy requirements. For example, does your smart home\u2019s security system make the grade? Remember you will always need to arm it \u2013 like a conventional burglar alarm \u2013 when you go out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>\u2026 Hacking<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask your broker whether or not your cover includes damage to appliances or equipment as a result of your smart home being hacked \u2013 and whether or not hacking your security system to gain access to your home satisfies the standard policy requirement that there be evidence of forcible or violent entry.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>\u2026 Surge protection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You risk more widespread damage to appliances and equipment linked in a smart home system, should there be a power surge. It\u2019s a good idea to install surge protection, as this could affect your premium \u2013 and prevent unnecessary damage in the event of an incident.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Truth be told, because smart homes are still a rather sci-fi concept, your broker will likely need to find out the answers to some of your questions around smart homes and insurance, and what\u2019s available.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that\u2019s a good thing, because you\u2019ll be able to figure out the best insurance solution for you and your home. And that\u2019s just plain, well, smart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Smart homes offer three fundamental promises: Convenience:\u00a0Being able to control multiple functions \u2013 such as the lights, the use of appliances, home security and more&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-innov8ions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":714,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions\/714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innov8fs.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}