Nationwide is on Pro One's side

COLUMBUS, Ohio--Nationwide Mutual Insurance announced Nov. 14 that it has collaborated with Protection One to offer an exclusive, co-branded, home security system called the Nationwide Property Protection Services home security system from Protection One. The partnership was initiated by Nationwide, said Carol Blaine, next generation product development director for Nationwide: "We talked to almost a dozen security companies and decided that Protection One was a good value fit for us." She said Nationwide liked the fact that Pro One has had a successful five-year alliance with BellSouth. The system will be piloted in Ohio over the next six months. During that time, the companies will assess the program and determine, by the spring, whether it will be rolled out in other states. Nationwide has a presence in all states except Massachusetts, New Jersey, Hawaii, Louisiana and New Mexico. Protection One will take care of sales, installation, service and monitoring. The system includes smoke and water protection, which are generally considered extras in security systems. Nationwide Mutual Insurance customers who purchase this security system may receive up to a 12 percent discount on their homeowners' insurance. "This allows us to present to our customers an opportunity to get security for their homes, not just against intrusion, but also against the top two controllable loss events--smoke/fire and [non-weather related] water intrusion," Blaine said. As part of the new partnership, Protection One will reimburse homeowners up to $1,000 for their insurance deductible if a customer has an eligible smoke, water or burglary loss while they are monitored by Protection One. Blaine said Nationwide wants to increase the number of policyholders who have this type of early-detection equipment, "which we hope will mean fewer claims for us. If there is an event, the early detection will mean that the damage is not as significant, which will lower loss costs for Nationwide, and we would hope to be able to pass along the savings to customers with more competitive premiums." John Pumpelly, Protection One's senior vice president of alliance relationships said making the deal is, in some ways, the easy part. "Making these [partnerships] work takes ongoing effort by both partners," he said. "The most critical aspect of [any partnership] is quality control and customer service, if you don't get that right, it's not worth doing," he added. The company-owned branch structure that Protection One has throughout the country gives it the edge in providing customer service and quality control, he added. Based here, Nationwide ranks 98 on the Fortune 500 list, has more than $158 billion in assets and provides a full range of insurance and financial services.