A surprisingly overlooked problem in water leak prevention takes center stage in this episode: getting smart water devices installed is only half the battle.

Paul Vacquier, founder and CEO of Beagle Services Inc., shares his unconventional path from practicing law in California to building the insurance go-to-market strategy for Flo by Moen — and ultimately launching Beagle to address a critical gap he discovered along the way. With an estimated 30 to 50% of installed smart water valves sitting offline at any given time, homeowners and insurers may be operating under a false sense of security. Paul illustrates the stakes with a $900,000 claim that traced back to a single unplugged valve.

The conversation covers Beagle's full-stack service model, featuring employed (not contracted) technicians, ongoing device monitoring, and its Watchdog platform, which proactively reaches out to homeowners with offline devices ahead of severe weather events.

The episode also explores the broader shift underway in insurance, where carriers are beginning to require smart water devices as a condition of coverage, and where agents are evolving from price-shoppers into genuine risk advisors, helping craft mitigation strategies tailored to a client's specific exposures.

Resources:

Beagle Services: https://www.beagleservices.com/

The Institutes: https://web.theinstitutes.org/

Predict & Prevent website: https://www.predictandprevent.org/

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