Escape of water is continuing to put significant pressure on UK property insurers, with connected building technology offering a potential way to intervene before a leak develops into a costly claim.
Quensus’s analysis highlights the scale of the water damage challenge facing property owners and insurers, with the Association of British Insurers estimating that insurers pay around £1.8m every day for domestic water damage claims. Aviva recorded 26,845 escape-of-water claims between 2023 and 2025, with an average cost of £11,273.
The figures are encouraging insurers, property owners and facilities teams to consider a more preventative approach to property risk. Instead of waiting for visible damage to emerge, connected building systems can use sensors, smart meters and automated controls to monitor conditions such as water consumption, temperature, occupancy and energy use in real time.
For insurers, one of the biggest opportunities lies in reducing the time between a leak starting and someone responding to it. A relatively minor fault can become a much larger loss if water continues flowing unnoticed for several hours. Buildings that are empty overnight, over weekends or during bank holidays can be particularly exposed, with an unchecked leak potentially damaging ceilings, flooring, IT systems and specialist equipment while also creating business interruption and lost rental income.
Technology such as Quensus’s LeakNet platform is designed to provide greater visibility over this risk. The system can monitor water consumption, identify unusual flows outside expected usage patterns and, where automated shut-off valves are installed, help isolate a potential leak. This creates the possibility of responding to a problem while it is still at the source, rather than after water damage has spread through a property.
The resulting data could also have a role in how property risks are assessed and managed. Records of consumption, alerts, response times and remedial action can provide evidence that a building has active risk controls in place. However, the presence of monitoring technology does not guarantee a reduction in insurance premiums, with pricing remaining dependent on factors including the insurer, individual property and claims history.
The value of connected building technology is not limited to insurance. The same information can support water-efficiency initiatives, sustainability reporting and wider facilities management, giving property owners additional reasons to invest in systems that can monitor buildings continuously.
For the insurance industry, however, the bigger shift is towards preventing losses rather than simply responding to them. Real-time information can give property owners and facilities teams an opportunity to identify abnormal conditions earlier, while automated controls can potentially limit the amount of damage that occurs when a building is unattended.
As property risks become increasingly connected, this creates a different role for InsurTech within the insurance lifecycle. Rather than only supporting claims once an incident has occurred, connected technology can provide insurers and their customers with data that helps identify and manage risks before they become claims.
Ultimately, Quensus’s analysis points to the role connected technology can play in giving property owners greater visibility over water risk. By identifying abnormal usage and enabling earlier intervention, these systems could help shift property insurance towards a more preventative approach, where reducing the severity of a loss becomes as important as responding to the claim itself.
Read the full Quensus analysis
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