There are 102 million uninsured and underinsured Americans who know they need – or need more – life insurance, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association. So, why not just buy?
One big reason is that the process of applying for and buying life insurance can be long and complicated, taking weeks and making customers jump through hoops.
Harmonee, a startup founded by N.C. A&T State University graduates Anthony Lewis and Jordan Maness, aims to remediate this issue.
Harmonee will provide a digital-focused buying platform that will reduce the life insurance application process from weeks to just minutes. Through Harmonee’s website and backend integrations with health care systems, customers will be able to share their health data, getting rid of the need for a new physical or blood work (which is often what elongates the process). Customers will also complete a questionnaire about their lifestyle, and Harmonee will provide approval and price quotes.
Harmonee plans to partner with established life insurance agencies while retaining its own in-house marketing and sales. Harmonee is in talks with several insurance carriers, and Lewis said that the agents have expressed a desire and a need for a product like Harmonee.
Focusing on younger and minority demographics, Harmonee also wants to educate people on life insurance, why it's needed and the different types of policies.
“I think Covid has brought to the forefront, unfortunately, that families are having to deal with the unexpected, untimely passing of people of all ages,” Lewis said. “I think people are becoming more aware that we want to leave behind legacies and good thoughts and not, in the moment when tragedy hits, have to scramble and figure out money. That should be the last thing that we have to be concerned about when one of the most tragic things that can happen in your life happens.”
Lewis and Maness want to further better the life insurance buying process by making policies flexible, so that if a customer buys a 20-year term life insurance policy, he or she can easily adjust when major life changes – such as a promotion, birth of a child, buying or selling of a house – occur. They also want to engage customers and make them healthier through partnerships and incentives.
Lewis and Maness have completed the Founder Gym accelerator, a minority- and women-focused accelerator focusing on raising capital, and Y-Combinator Startup School, a self-paced course that allows students to learn and gain feedback on their business.
Currently, Lewis and Maness are crowdfunding capital on Netcapital, a web platform that allows anyone to invest in startups. For a minimum of $99, Lewis and Maness are offering equity shares in their company.
As of Sept. 12, Harmonee has raised $19,852, surpassing the $10,000 minimum to receive the funding. They can raise a maximum of $107,000 due to regulations based on the startup phase they are in.
This initial round of fundraising is set to end on Oct. 1.
In addition, Harmonee’s demo website for potential investors and customers went live this past weekend.
They expect to complete a second round of fundraising, which will allow them to hire developers. Lewis said they are also in the process of applying to other incubators.
Lewis, now living in Texas, and Maness, now in Raleigh, expect to launch Harmonee in early 2022. Harmonee will initially launch in Dallas, Texas, where Lewis is based and has obtained an insurance license. That insurance license has reciprocity with 25 other states, including North Carolina. After launching in Texas, they expect to expand into the Southeast and then nationally.
“We’re excited because we see it as a way that a lot of people are looking to maintain wealth and pass wealth on,” Lewis said. “We often talk about the American dream of buying a house, but we often don’t have the secondary conversation of ensuring that house or whatever we built is passed on to your children or whoever we see fit.”
