JeChange and HomeServe Team Up on Smart Home Assistance

FACTS

• The home service company HomeServe teams up with JeChange, behind a digital assistant for managing regular bills.

• They will be focusing on home assistance based on connected devices including leakage sensors and smart thermostats.
• 4 offers have been developed: 
  • Assistance Pannes Electriques (power failure)
  • Assistance Pannes Electriques et Gaz (power & gas failure)
  • Assistance Pannes Electriques et Plomberie (power failure & plumbing)
  • Assistance Pannes Intégrales (total failure)
• This partnership will lead to the launch of an all-inclusive covering all connected devices in a household.
• This contract includes unlimited phone-based assistance and compensation to afford new devices if impossible to fix: up to €500 and 2 changes/year.
• Connected objects: thermostats, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, leakage detectors, surveillance cameras, and even connected speakers, for instance.
• Cost: €5.99/month

KEY FIGURES

• HomeServe
  • Network of 3,000 repairers in France
  • 150,000 interventions/year
  • Over 1M customers in France
  • €113M revenue in France
• JeChange
  • Founded in 2006
  • 3M users in France
  • European presence through their brand KillMyBill

CHALLENGES

• Modernising assistance services. For the assistance specialist JeChange, which focuses on comparing and assistance in changing service provider, this insurance offer comes as a logical addition to their existing range of services.
• Applying innovative offers on a niche market. JeChange and HomeServe will be the first to feature an insurance policy for all connected objects in a household, along with a full assistance service and repair work.
• Consolidating a business model. JeChange is a comparison service available for free, but which charges a fee when acting as a business finder, i.e.: if the user actually changes contract. This new offer stands out as a way for them to diversify their revenue sources.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• A favourable context. In 2018, 21% of the people in France owned at least one connected object and 18% of the households had to face equipment failure. Also, 86% of these people haven’t subscribed an assistance service to solve these issues (source: CSA study for HomeServe).
• JeChange’s part in this launch shows that comparison services may aim for diversification, too. It also stresses their competitive reach and a likely crossover with the insurance sector.
• HomeServe is used to this distribution model. In the end of 2018, they partnered with Saur on featuring 4 assistance services intended for plumbing failures.