The discontinuation of Roost Home Telematics’ residential products affects more than a home-security offering. Insurance filings show that Roost devices were used over the years to support policyholder rewards, connected-home discounts, loss-prevention programs and insurer access to property data.
As Coverager reported, Roost was acquired by an undisclosed company at the end of August. The new owner discontinued Security360, WS360 and the associated monitoring services, while apparently retaining Protection360, Roost’s commercial-property telematics product.
Security360 launched in 2021, but Roost’s residential insurance relationships began earlier.
An Ohio filing from Milbank Insurance Company, then part of State Auto, introduced a free smart-home kit for new homeowners customers in 2018. The kit included one or two Roost water and freeze detectors and a Roost smart smoke-alarm battery. Customers who installed the devices also qualified for the insurer’s smart-home discount.
A 2019 State Auto filing in South Dakota listed Roost technology under its Smart/Connected Home Credit for smart smoke alarms and water-leak detection. It also established an $85 smart-home-kit reward for eligible policyholders participating in the insurer’s home-monitoring program.
Elsewhere, Flathead Farm Mutual Insurance Company offered two free Roost water-detection devices to policyholders with seasonal or secondary residences who had Wi-Fi, a smartphone and an email address. The offer appeared in a Montana underwriting questionnaire that also asked customers about maintaining heat, shutting off water and arranging physical inspections while a property was unoccupied.
Roost devices also appeared directly in rating plans. A 2019 Kentucky filing from ASI, part of Progressive, identified Roost as an approved smart smoke-detector provider. The filing assigned a 2% other-perils discount for a smart smoke detector and 3% when data was shared. Roost was also listed among the vendors for water-leak sensors, which carried a 4% discount.
More recently, USAA added Roost to its Connected Home Program in Pennsylvania in 2023. The program recognized multiple Roost-compatible water-leak detectors for reductions to the water, fire and theft portions of the homeowners premium.
Unlike a simple device discount, USAA’s program relied on an electronic data exchange to verify that the required devices remained operational. Customers whose devices went offline received several notices, and the discount could be removed after approximately 60 days if connectivity was not restored. USAA offered Resideo as another eligible provider.
A 2024 filing from Mutual of Enumclaw provides another glimpse into the transition away from Roost devices. The insurer had previously distributed free Roost water-leak and freeze detectors through a pilot risk-reduction program and, with customer consent, received data generated by the devices. By the time of the filing, Mutual of Enumclaw was no longer offering new detectors, although it stated that monitoring would continue for customers who had already enrolled.
The filings are historical snapshots and do not establish that every program remained active at the time of Roost’s sale. However, they show the different roles Roost played inside residential insurance: hardware supplier, monitoring provider, policyholder-reward partner and source of connected-home data.
The shutdown therefore leaves insurers with more than discontinued devices. Programs tied to monitoring, device verification or data sharing may also require replacement vendors, revised customer communications and, where Roost is expressly named, updated filings.