Länsförsäkringar wanted a way into home safety. We designed the service first-time homeowners would trust enough to keep using

Product Designer
Pre-study
Framna & Länsförsäkringar
Native app
UX
UI

Länsförsäkringar is Sweden's largest customer-owned insurance group. The question we were given was how to help homeowners improve home safety and prevent damage while positioning ALF as a trusted partner. The focus was on understanding where people feel vulnerable and how their needs could be addressed in a way that builds trust and long-term engagement.

why it mattered

Homeowners mainly worry about things happening when they are not at home, especially when kids or pets are there alone. Reliability and data privacy were non-negotiable, particularly for safety-critical smart devices. Uncertainty around device status created stress, which made visibility and notifications a core product requirement.

the challenges

1. Building trust in devices people cannot see working. Users expected devices to work at all times and wanted clear confirmation that everything was functioning as intended.

2. Keeping people engaged after installation. Practical guidance such as tasks, reminders, and checklists felt useful and motivating, while chatbots and community features showed low relevance for this context.

the approach

Our solution combines a mobile app and a home kit to help first-time homeowners improve safety using IoT and connected devices. The app gives users clear control over their devices and sends relevant alerts when something needs attention.

Educational content plays a key role, with personalised tasks and the "Learn with ALF" section offering short quizzes on home safety. This makes security practical, understandable, and easier to engage with.

the impact

We delivered a proposal that Länsförsäkringar took forward directly, establishing Länsförsäkringar Trygghetstjänster AB to build and launch the product based on our findings.

6 weeks

From kickoff to concept proposal, with a team of four

December 2023

Launched as a native app with a supporting website

4.6 / 4.4

App Store and Google Play, across roughly 190 ratings

v3.27

Still shipping every two weeks, two and a half years on

Regional Länsförsäkringar businesses jointly own the new company

Other projects

scoping the problem

The brief was to understand where people feel vulnerable in their homes and how those needs could be addressed in a way that builds trust and long-term engagement. During a two-month discovery phase, with four weeks dedicated to weekly user interviews and continuous research, I helped the team understand how to build trust and drive ongoing engagement for a B2C insurance app.

research & discovery

The worry people described was specific. It was not the house in the abstract, it was what might happen in it while nobody was there, with a child or a pet inside.

Trust in the hardware was the condition for everything else. A sensor that might or might not be working is worse than none, so people wanted to be told it was fine rather than left to assume it, and they had no patience for vagueness about where their data went.

Many users were also willing to pay more for safety products they trusted and saw clear value in, including installing multiple detectors for areas like water leaks.

Education came out as the strongest driver of continued use. Tasks, reminders and checklists tested well. Chatbots and community features did not.

the design process

Based on these insights, I helped the team define an MVP focused on prevention, clarity, and education. We prioritised onboarding, home and device overview, notifications, and learning content, while keeping the scope realistic and ready to scale.

Through close collaboration and constant user input, we shaped a product that turned home safety from a source of stress into something empowering. The focus on clarity and education over complexity proved key to building trust with first-time homeowners.