Every year in early January the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) sweeps into Las Vegas, providing glimpses into the future of technology for our lives, home and work. We found the ideas behind the “smart home” to be particularly fascinating and wanted to provide you with some of our favorites. These advances will be available soon, some even as early as this spring. To think, our homes will be so smart that soon they can renew their own homeowners insurance! Well, maybe not. But they’ll certainly seem smarter!
Opening Doors
One of the more interesting devices from this year’s CES was the Goji Smart Lock, which can be opened via an app or by syncing with your phone’s Bluetooth connection. This lock can grant access to certain persons, such as your maid or dog sitter, while also providing a camera so you can see who is at your door. This device is almost ready with pre-orders being taken for the first ship date in March.
Text Your Washer?
Both Samsung and LG unveiled their new smart appliances, each with a slightly different take. Samsung uses cameras so you can see what is going on with each appliance while LG is developing software so that you can text your appliance. How great would it be to text the refrigerator and ask if you need to get more milk on the way home!
Slow Down the Slow Cooker
Ready to go high-tech today? Belkin’s Crock-Pot already gives you the option to adjust the temperature and timing of their slower cooker via your smartphone. Now you can speed up or slow down cooking times, ensuring your dinner is ready to eat when you are.
Bringing It All Together
Of course, the smart devices will only make us want more, so many forward-thinking companies have already begun providing ways to intertwine their smart devices with others, giving you an opportunity for a smart system, or smart home. Some of the systems are from companies you would not expect!
Staples has a system for home automation they launched last year, called Staples Connect. This year they expanded the number of companies that are compatible, giving you a larger set of options, including the Goji smart door lock we described above. Also included are a sleep device system and smart scales. Wow. Now our smart home can tell us to get that fat free milk based on our recent weigh-in!
Homeowners Remember to Insure
Of course, with every new technological advance comes a risk. In this case, security is of major concern. There are downsides to having your home a technological marvel, particularly since the devices work off of internet connections and telecom signals. It’s great to think about the convenience these devices and appliances will provide, but also a concern if they can be “hacked” to allow access to someone who takes advantage and steals your items.
Homeowners insurance may not be going all high-tech yet, but is still very important to consider, particularly if you want to ensure proper coverage. Remember, there is a difference between dwelling and property coverage, neither of which have anything to do with personal liability.
Whether you are going to go all high-tech or not, it’s always a good idea to review your homeowners insurance coverage. Contact one of our insurance specialists to ask your questions, particularly before investing in a high-tech, smart device for your home!