Belong Safe has today launched the world’s first pay per day household insurance policy for the sharing economy.
Underwritten by Hiscox and developed in partnership with cloud-based insurance software providers Red Crake, and ‘launch and host’ specialists, Ambant Underwriting Services, the policy covers the risks faced by home sharing hosts that are excluded by the majority of home insurance policies and for the first time offers it on a ‘pay per day’ basis.
Humphrey Bowles, founder and CEO of Belong Safe said: “Belong Safe focuses entirely on home-sharing which has seen a boom in recent years and with it, examples of hosts who do not realise standard home insurance policies don’t cover all the risks they face. Renting out a room or having a paying guest turns a private home into a business risk for the purposes of insurance, even if just for a few days a year. Belong Safe provides comprehensive home insurance including cover for the risks associated with having strangers in your home. The cover is designed to dovetail with the host’s main home insurance and operates on a day-by-day basis so you only buy what you need. This opens up access to insurance for thousands of home sharers, who might otherwise remain only partially protected.” According to PwC, the sharing economy in the UK is set to grow to £9bn in the next 10 years. Despite the popularity of home-sharing, many hosts do not realise that they are likely to be invalidating their home insurance. Currently, hosts who rent their property out through sharing platforms such as Airbnb can only insure their property against the risks associated with paying guests through a costly annual commercial landlord’s or B&B insurance policy. Belong Safe cover costs as little as 78p* per day.
Belong Safe was founded by Humphrey Bowles, a former manager of leading home-sharing platform onefinestay. Commenting on the technology platform enabling the product, Bowles continues: “We operate a high volume, low transaction cost model. So, with a high policy count and daily premiums in single digits, selecting the right IT system was the key to making this product viable. We selected Red Crake’s cloud-based, mobile-responsive system as it makes it easy for our members to both register and buy cover at the click of a button from any device at any time of day.”
Richard Gordon, Managing Director of Red Crake, the software providers behind the new launch, said: “Working with Belong Safe to bring some innovation to the insurance market has been hugely exciting. Insurance start-ups have always been our focus – whether new agencies like Belong Safe or the more recent disruptors to the market, as these can take full advantage of rapid development and having no costly legacy systems in place. Red Crake is a new approach to the provision of software to the Insurance Industry. Our aim is to make the benefits of new generation cloud-based software affordable and available to all in the insurance market.”
Chris Butcher, CEO of AUS (Ambant Underwriting Services) said: “We put our full insurance business, administrative and regulatory expertise behind Belong Safe so it could launch quickly and effectively. Belong Safe is at the forefront of creativity and innovation in the shared economy and so is AUS. We specialise in getting MGAs up and running effortlessly and then supporting them successfully as they grow.”
For further information please contact: SJ Wrigley, Spotlight Consulting, on 07909546104 or sj@spotlightconsulting.co.uk
*prices are dynamic and dependent on the Host, property and individual stay. For example, a two bedroom property in Covent Garden in London would be approximately £5-6 per night.
About Belong Safe
Belong Safe is a new online platform for home sharing ‘Hosts’ to manage their home-sharing insurance needs. Belong Safe is the world’s first insurance provider to offer on-demand, pay by the day home insurance that covers the risks of having paying guests to stay, and plugs the gaps in traditional home insurance policies . It has been specifically created to give control directly to Hosts, house-swappers and for all who rent their homes to paying guests. It offers the Host complete peace of mind and security that they, their home and possessions are protected. www.belongsafe.com
Belong Safe is an Appointed Representative of Ambant Underwriting Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 597301 for insurance intermediation only.
About Red Crake
Red Crake is a new approach to the provision of software to the Insurance Industry. It makes leading edge software affordable, and most importantly, available to all in the cloud – anytime, anywhere. That means a functionally rich, state of the art application, designed specifically to utilise cloud capabilities with low up-front investment and low monthly costs that result in a major reduction in overall IT costs. This gives insurers and intermediaries the opportunity to focus on projects that differentiate their business, with rapid launch and quick return.
Red Crake works with innovative, nimble companies, often start-ups or niche players that are pushing the boundaries of insurance and need the infrastructure to make their ideas a reality. www.redcrake.com
About AUS (Ambant Underwriting Services Limited)
Ambant Underwriting Services Limited focuses on providing robust ‘launch and host services’ for managing general agents (MGAs). It provides a professional, secure, quick and easy route to market. Because Ambant Underwriting Services is truly independent it works in the interest of the MGA to provide a safe, cost effective and risk free environment. It brings MGAs the security of a strong regulated regime backed up by its team’s considerable industry experience. When it comes to launching, Ambant Underwriting Services’ expertise enables it to get MGAs up and running in a
matter of weeks. It provides launch and host services to entrepreneurs and teams setting up as MGAs, service support to existing fully authorised MGAs, and a general bespoke service support to firms in the delegated underwriting arena. www.ambant.com
Ambant Underwriting Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 597301 for insurance intermediation only.