IoT infrastructure investments to be covered by new industrial insurance

Relayr is partnering with Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB), part of Munich Re, to develop customized insurance products to help relayr customers making Internet of Things (IoT) investments protect their return on those investments.

Pointing out that that HSB has 150 years of experience insuring the equipment and technology used by businesses, relayr reports that the work the two companies will do “represents the insurance industry’s first industrial IoT-specific set of offerings.”

“People have long talked about the potential savings and increased efficiencies that are going to be possible with the Internet of Things,” relayr co-founder Josef Brunner says in a statement Tuesday from the company, a provider of a cloud platform, consulting services and hardware. Now, “we are literally going to do it,” Brunner says.

“We’re excited about collaborating with relayr to combine insurance solutions with their IoT applications,” says Greg Barats, HSB’s president and CEO.

HSB hopes to provide relayr clients confidence in their IoT investments “by creating financial assurance that they will benefit, whether it involves increasing output, decreasing downtime, developing new revenue streams or reducing maintenance costs,” Barats continues.

Related: Internet of Things to move toward mainstream adoption this year: Gartner

Brunner suggests the partnership with HSB also has the potential to help the customers of relayr clients.

For example, one of relayr’s first industrial customers in IoT is Schindler, a leading global elevator and escalator provider.

“The new partnerships will allow relayr to further expand their business scope from technology towards comprehensive IoT-based business model offerings for the benefit of existing and new customers,” notes Michael Nilles, chief digital officer of global elevator and escalator provider Schindler.

Beyond partnering on the new line of insurance products, “Munich Re/HSB Ventures is also leading a US$23 million financing round for relayr,” in which it is being joined by venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as Munich Venture Partners.

Related: IoT poses one of insurance industry’s biggest underwriting challenges: Rosenbaum