It's not something that's commonly discussed in the gig economy — how do you make sure you're insured for the homeshare guest or an accident that happens during a rideshare trip? Unless you pay a premium on home or renter's insurance, or on that auto insurance policy, chances are, you won't be covered.
That's not something Airbnb, Uber of Lyft want to talk about when recruiting users. But New York City-based Slice is ready to take that conversation head on.
With a recent expansion into the entirety of Maryland, the on-demand insurance startup is trying to simplify the insurance industry. Yes, I know, that's not an easy task. The crew at Slice also know that.
"The sad thing is that they think they are covered," said Emily Kosick, Slice's managing director of marketing. "These companies and these platforms have done a good job of convincing them of that."
Slice's three founders came across the idea after their many years in both the insurance and tech industries. They thought, "There must be a better way to get insurance. There has to be an easier way." Then the founding team spotted the rising gig economy, where tons of people were going into these new side hustles or full-time jobs with no idea of what their current insurance policies do or do not cover.
"People just have this 'out of sight, out of mind' type of mindset, but that’s when people get in trouble," Kosick said.
Slice is exactly like it says it is: on-demand. Go to the website, fill out your typical demographic and property information and include how many days you need the insurance for, without a contract. Currently, the service is only offered for homesharing platforms. The policy is in place only for the time you need it for, and consumers can pay as little as $4 per night, depending on the type of policy they're interested in.
Naturally, because most people don't think they need insurance to list a property on Airbnb, Kosick says their biggest hurdle so far is customer awareness.
"We have to change that mindset," she said. "We’re doing it for you. We’re creating an insurance product that is designed for you."
We’re doing it for you. We’re creating an insurance product that is designed for you.
The startup is also working on an iCal integration that will allow the startup to see when your upcoming Airbnb bookings are and ask you if you want to start a policy for that specific stay — making it one step easier for possible policy holders.
Slice's services are available in Maryland, along with California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington. Kosick could not speak to any future partnerships the startup is looking at, like ones with the sharing economy startups they're targeting, but she did say that most states have welcomed the startup with open arms.
"These regulators see the need considering the amount of risk that these people face," she said.
When looking at expansion plans, Kosick said Slice was looking at states and markets with a ton of homesharing activity. Before the official launch in June, Slice beta tested with a few current home-sharing hosts and altered the product based on their feedback.
"The Maryland insurance regulators were very welcoming, and they embraced the idea," Kosick said. "We were trying to pick markets and pick states where there was a lot of home sharing activity."
Although only in the Maryland market now, Kosick said the startup is always looking at new markets for expansion potential. Slice is also working on a product for rideshare drivers, too.
