Wasens CEO, Haimon Israeli
In this edition of our series on the Israeli Insurtech delegation heading to ITC Vegas in October 2024, we’re excited to showcase the forward-thinking companies transforming the insurance industry. This time, we turn our spotlight to Wasens, exploring their journey, challenges, and groundbreaking technologies through detailed interviews.
We sat down with CEO, Haimon Israeli, to learn how ‘smart’ leak detection and flood prevention systems help insurance companies reduce the number of clients’ water damage claims, and associated costs.
Can you briefly describe your company and your mission?
Haimon: In 2014, we put together a dedicated team of R&D, IT, IoT, smart home devices, and water resources engineers, to develop point systems for leak detection in commercial buildings and private homes. Our mission today, is no different than it was a decade ago – “to do our part and help save the world’s water.” Market response was so overwhelming, that we enhanced our offering to leak detection and flood prevention systems, powered by water monitoring, control, and consumption. From a start-up in Israel, today, WASENS has subsidiaries and sales in the US, Canada, and Europe. But we didn’t stop there! We expanded our commercial offering to include a user-friendly app, central monitoring station, and recently, a long-range family product line. The bottom line? WASENS significantly reduces the number of insurance company clients’ water damage claims, and related costs. In the public sector, for example, our systems helped a municipality achieve ~45% in water savings, something that’s unprecedented in our industry.
Which key verticals do you serve?
Haimon: For starters, WASENS is recommended by some of the world’s leading insurance companies keen on reducing water damage claims, and enhancing their services offering with a viable support system for commercial clients and homeowners. We also address the needs of real estate developers and contractors seeking to implement our systems at the preconstruction stage, property management companies that want to upgrade or replace legacy systems at residential or commercial sites, and the hospitality industry, where hotels and resorts want to protect their properties, and ensure guest safety. We also serve the public sector, where schools, community centers, and hospitals, all with controlled budgets and sustainability initiatives, are set on protecting their properties from water damage, cutting costs, and reducing water consumption.
Can you tell us more about your offering and how it differentiates from comparable market solutions?
Haimon: WASENS specializes in water damage prevention solutions, developing advanced autonomous water damage and leak detection and flooding prevention systems that render any given water infrastructure – smart. Here, ‘smart’ translates into seamless remote monitoring and control, key differentiators in a very dynamic industry. Simply put, we ensure that our clients, whether industrial, commercial or residential, are protected from major water damage – 24/7. For example, for major leak prevention, our systems include automatic shut-off valves that are activated immediately when a leak is detected, to prevent further damage.
But it all comes down to our innovative technologies, a combination of intelligent tools, advanced sensors, and proprietary algorithms that identify potential leak points before they happen. Our systems also enable control, and real-time remote monitoring and management of water consumption via IoT and smart home devices, sending immediate alerts via a mobile app or a web-based platform. Managed by user-friendly dashboards that don’t require extensive tech knowhow, we provide users with detailed analyses and reports to better understand water usage patterns, and identify potential issues and irregular water consumption. Plus, our customer support team provides fast turnaround on troubleshooting and maintenance, especially on time-sensitive issues, and our HW/SW are regularly updated to ensure system functionality and security. Scalable and flexible, we also offer modular components, tailored to specific property types and individual customer requirements.
I’d like to add, that beyond our next-generation technologies and strong analytics capabilities, we consistently set the bar high on sustainability and energy efficiency, ensuring that our systems yield low power consumption, and significant energy savings. By helping our customers to proactively save water, we also help reduce their carbon footprint.
What specific issues is your company addressing in the insurance industry?
Haimon: One of the major concerns for insurance companies, is water damage in their client’s properties, followed by subsequent claims. These are the most common and costly types of insurance claims. By providing early detection and prevention solutions of water leaks and flooding, WASENS helps reduce the frequency and severity of water damage incidents, and for insurance companies, this means lowering the number of claims, and their associated costs.
What do you envision as ‘real’ market potential for your solution?
Haimon: Market potential for leak detection and flood prevention systems is substantial, driven by the frequency and high costs of water damage claims. From my longtime experience, there are several key contributing factors, starting with an upsurge in awareness, where insurers and property owners are turning their attention to the importance of taking preventive measures against water damage. Then, there are rising insurance costs, where insurance companies are incentivized to reduce claims, and may offer discounts for properties equipped with leak detection systems, and of course, rising water costs, a direct result of environmental awareness, global warming, and water shortages, where leak detection solutions can – and do, help.
Market potential also lies in tech advancements, where leak detection and prevention systems powered by IoT devices and smart sensors, are boosting efficiency and user appeal, and we’re seeing more countries whose regulations now require leak detection systems in specific property types. Further, the boom in urbanization, and the construction of new residential and commercial properties worldwide, will increase the demand for our systems.
What are your main challenges so far – and how have you overcome them?
Haimon: When it comes to our managing our business, we’re faced with two main challenges, the first being our ability to continuously develop reliable, state-of-the-art, tech-driven systems. Second, is finding that market ‘sweet spot,’ where our clients, partners, and distributors gain full understanding of the importance of implementing our systems to protect their properties – where it’s no longer a privilege, but a standard. We have responded by investing considerably in R&D, and as we continue to grow, and better understand customers’ needs and pain points, we will have the ability to focus on delivering exceedingly relevant, customized, and user-friendly solutions.
What about milestones for the next 12 months? Are product launches or major updates in the works?
Haimon: We are evolving, non-stop, currently focusing on an advanced Central Monitoring Station (CMS), a web-based dashboard platform for commercial construction and property management. It’s a cutting-edge tool for building owners, and management companies to control, manage, detect, and better understand water usage patterns in their properties. In the coming year, we will continue to develop and hone our product lines, enhance our customer service and support, and explore new partnership ops.
As for new products, we have recently completed development of our Long-Range Family (LRF) product line, a new feature that allows us to minimize the use of devices in a given property, while using our own proprietary systems. As I mentioned, we are also gearing up to launch our new CMS, aimed at becoming a required standard to manage water infrastructure in commercial buildings. In the private sector, for homeowners, we’re continuously enhancing the WASENS mobile app with new features, functionality, and user-friendly interfaces.
As a company, what do you hope to achieve by taking part in the ITC conference?
Haimon: For WASENS, ITC is the ideal platform to showcase our solutions, increase our visibility, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our leak detection and prevention systems to potential customers and partners. It’s a great opportunity to meet with industry leaders, connect with key stakeholders in the insurance and tech sectors, and ultimately, to explore new collaborative paths. We are looking to learn more about the Insurtech industry, and by participating in the conference, we’re sure to gain valuable insights on the latest industry trends and innovations.
We want to meet with insurance companies and discuss partnership ops, integrating our systems into their client offerings to lower claim costs, and to collaborate with property management companies, to implement our systems across managed properties. We’re equally keen to meet with tech integrators that work with IoT and smart home providers, and with real estate developers and plumbing consultants, to implement our systems in new construction projects. Further, we want to engage with regulators, to present our product offering, and advocate for the inclusion of leak detection and prevention systems in building codes and insurance requirements.
What can you tell us about the WASENS team? What make you – unique?
Haimon: We have an eclectic mix of professionals, most of whom coming from senior positions at global tech companies, the likes of Samsung and Huawei, Maytronics (advanced robotics), Sysco Foods, and Mekorot, the national water company of Israel. From R&D and product management, to multinational biz dev, marketing & sales, distribution, and customer support, today, we are 40-strong, and growing! Our engineers and developers are experts in sensor technology, IoT, and data analytics, ensuring that every product we take to market, delivers on efficiency and reliability. We also employ regulatory experts who ensure our products comply with industry standards.
At WASENS, we foster a culture of creativity and continuous improvement, encouraging our teams to explore new ideas and technologies, to always be at the forefront of the leak detection industry. But our primary focus is delivering exceptional value to our customers. We believe in teamwork, and our open and inclusive environment encourages cross-functional collaboration. We make sure that everyone’s voice is heard. Our team is committed to making a positive impact on the world, enabling our customers to take proactive steps in conserving and protecting our most important natural resource – water.
How do you see the Insurtech industry evolving in the next 5 years?
Haimon: Water damage protection technologies are about to surge, as water savings is going to take top priority on the global agenda, including some pretty tough regulations. This is why we believe that some technologies, from a water consumption aspect, especially water leakage and flooding that result in damage, are going to become a standard requirement in insurance policies – for industrial, commercial, and residential properties.
What’s the one takeaway you’d like our readers to have?
Haimon: WASENS can save your clients, commercial or residential property owners, from considerable water damage, help them avert unnecessary expenses, and save on water consumption. This is how today’s insurance companies can decrease the number and severity of water damage incidents, and lower the amount of insurance claims.
