A new type of insurance company that says it uses modern technology to allow consumers to find and buy insurance in under four minutes, has launched a home and contents insurance offering.
Homelyfe was founded by entrepreneurs Peter Goodman and Andrew Craven, who collaborated with insurance underwriters to streamline the buying process.
Its USP (unique selling point) is that users answer far fewer and simpler questions. The firm says that other insurance providers typically ask 60 or more questions.
Homelyfe can be accessed via its website or app. With a single login, customers can add new insurance lines without leaving the app, a feature that many of the existing mobile insurance platforms do not offer. It can integrate seamlessly with insurance companies to offer customers a range of insurance products.
A survey conducted by Homelyfe through CitizenMe – a personal data and insights platform – found that 95% of respondents could not accurately answer one or more of the typical questions necessary for purchasing home insurance, without having to leave the buying process. Based on these findings, only 4% of respondents were able to complete the home insurance buying process the first-time round without guessing and potentially invalidating insurance claims by providing misinformation.
The survey asked respondents five common questions that are required in the process of buying home insurance, such as “what type of lock do you have on your front door”, and an estimate of the rebuild value of the home.
Homelyfe found that only 44 out of the 1,000 respondents felt confident they could accurately answer all five of these questions, just a fraction of the questions that are typically asked in the process.
The same survey found that the majority – 61% – go to price comparison websites for their home and contents insurance compared to 18% that go direct to an insurer.
Peter Goodman, CEO and co-founder of Homelyfe, said: “Homelyfe has been built from the ground up, and is unique in its capabilities.
“With far too many other insurance providers and comparison websites, the number of questions required to take out home insurance are completely unnecessary but remains the industry norm. In the data-rich world we live in today, we should not have to rely on the consumer knowing these answers.
“Ultimately, the result is that insurers are not looking after the consumer’s best interests, which is what we’re looking to change. While other industries – such as retail banking – have completely transformed in recent years, the insurance industry is only just starting to catch up.”
