8 ms·

Show HN: Software to give insurance advice like an agent would

97 points by chrisplotz 8y ago

Chris, Dan, and the team at Goodcover here. Goodcover is building a new home and renters insurance co that tries to fix the insurance incentives by returning any unclaimed premium back to customers, keeping a fee instead. Goodcover was YC S17, but off the record due to discussions with the CA government. And we’re still “pre-launch” - starting a new insurance co is hard as it turns out! Part of the technical challenge we deal with is, how do we build software that can scale what an agent does? Although we can’t offer a full insurance experience yet, we thought we’d roll out an advice app (https://app.goodcover.com/advice https://app.goodcover.com/advice) that makes a stab at giving advice like an agent might, but using software. By analyzing your current insurance docs, we can: - Benchmark the coverage you have against what is “normal”. - Provide advice about some specific things that you can fix or at least consider fixing. - Arm you with information on things you can push back on with your insurer. Technically, the way it works is we’ve generalized some gotchas, manually looked over a bunch of Home/Renters policies, and built a workflow for us to select where we think you are in the homeowners/renters spectrum. So it’s really just workflow automation, however, it requires obviously being able to translate insurance constructs to user things, but most of it is pretty simple from an automation standpoint. Most of our time is generally spent on building out insurance functions, but it’s been a great experiment in information hierarchy to try and reduce complex concepts and insurance-speak down to actionable pieces of information for customers. No obligation, and feel free to take our advice back to your current provider and get stuff fixed. Goodcover Insurance Solutions LLC is licensed in California (0M20813) so if you are not in CA we can still have a look, but you should definitely review our advice with a pro in your state.

chrisplotz 8y ago
Chris Lotz, cofounder of Goodcover here. The team and I are around and happy to answer any questions. Would love to hear any feedback too! Particularly around the user flow, and whether our instructions make sense. Thanks!
- sfbay 8y ago
  Hi Chris, This is a great service for almost 70% of the population who don't know what events are not covered and the fine print gotchas from the insurance companies. This should be a really helpful service, kudos on the idea. The only concern I have here is, privacy. Most of the home owners are not comfortable to upload docs that includes their names or property details (easy to know their net worth) from this. Also, how are you managing data security? Do you have any plans to address these concerns?
  - chrisplotz 8y ago
    Thanks! You make a really good point on privacy - insurance is a trust business and managing this right is really important. We delete Dec pages w/in 30 days (we don't need to keep them past giving you the advice), so that's a start and something we don't mention on the site but should. We also never expose user data, or show you what you've uploaded. Unfortunately though to get insurance advice, property details are pretty important, and if you are concerned with your Liability coverage net worth is pretty important for a service to know too. What we don't need are names - actually people could black out that personal info (even address) and it would be fine!
    - nickpsecurity 8y ago
      "(even address)" I thought geography factored into deciding premiums since different areas had different risks of specific events that would lead to an insurance payout. Does what you all are doing simply not need that? Or are you saying that analysis can be left off if they desire for privacy? Edit: Thanks for the info!
      - chrisplotz 8y ago
        Geography is important, but your specific street address isn't required for this tool. And really, most insurance pricing is done at a higher level than street address (zip, or insurer-defined territories) so actually it is one of the last bits of info needed. For rough advice as this gives, we don't need it.
      - ddispaltro 8y ago
        Dan at Goodcover. The later. It's a factor for insurance premiums, because being in an urban landscape vs a wooded area has a massively different fire risk.
  - dyim 8y ago
    Man, I bet it's even higher than 70%. I was in the hospital in February, and I asked the nurse how much it would cost to drain a subungual hematoma. Nobody knew! Maybe it would've been free; maybe it would've cost $1,000 - it definitely doesn't feel good to decline a procedure because you have no idea how much it'll cost.
- tgb 8y ago
  I was just within the last hour look at renter's insurance, so I appreciate the goal of the company. It doesn't look like you currently give advice for people comparing different offers - is that something you plan to do? Also, I didn't understand your description of "returning any unclaimed premium back to customers, keeping a fee instead". Being not too familiar with insurance, can you give an example of how this would work?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - chrisplotz 8y ago
    Thanks - and good luck with your renters insurance search. You're right we don't currently give advice for comparing through the tool - but I've written about it on our blog, and have a even more low tech comparison tool there (google sheet!). https://blog.goodcover.com/save-time-and-buy-home-condo-renter-insurance-with-confidence-98b1e4526f48 https://blog.goodcover.com/save-time-and-buy-home-condo-rent... Hopefully that could help you out in the mean time. Regarding returning unclaimed premium - good question. The way insurers make money is by 1) collecting premiums and holding on to them, generating some interest, and 2) keeping more premium than they need to pay out in losses and expenses, which is called "Underwriting Profit." Typically Home/Renters insurance is written in such a way that a company tries to keep 5-15% of premiums as Underwriting Profit. We think that the conflict over underwriting profit is at the heart of why the insurance experience is bad - there's not much incentive in improving a user experience that you don't want users to use... So we want to give that 5-15% back in the good years where we don't need it to pay claims. So, what you would see is a dividend at the end of the insurance year. It's not going to be much, but it is "putting our money where our mouth is" on our commitment to policyholders. Turns out that's really hard to do legally and financially - mutual insurers would technically do this, but starting one is a hugely capital intensive process. We're on the path, and hope to be able to share more about the process soon!
    - berbec 8y ago
      A question about this "dividend". Obviously, this is a major source of profit for a insurance company, but I imagine is also used to refill reserves after a big payout year. Insurers must have been piling cash away for years after Andrew, Katrina, Sandy etc to recoop payouts. How would this balance with returning money on good years?
- secabeen 8y ago
  Are there any California HO providers that still offer Guaranteed Replacement? I had it at one point with AAA, but they jacked rates on me, and it got too expensive. I'd like to get it again, but haven't been able to find it.
  - chrisplotz 8y ago
    Typically Guaranteed replacement is offered by HNW providers such as PURE, AIG, and Chubb. Travelers might do so too. It's hard to find though, so talking to an insurance broker that can access those specialist markets (i.e. they do not sell online) might be your best shot. Also, most insurers will offer some kind of Extended Replacement Cost which pretty much does the job too. Interesting development though is in CA, insurers are legally required to recommend you a replacement cost coverage amount that is adequate for your place. That probably has a lot to do with the changes you've seen on "guaranteeing" something vs just recommending.
    - secabeen 8y ago
      Yeah, the HNW policies are also stupid expensive. AAA was the only provider for normal people I found that still offered it. Extended replacement cost theoretically does the job, but in coastal california, we're already looking at rebuild costs in the $300+/sqft level. Add in the cost increase from labor shortages, and I could see it spiking significantly above that. (Looking at my policy, I see the Extended Replacement providing 30% more than baseline, and 80% more than baseline for FEMA declared disaster, which I suppose is probably enough. I still prefer reasonably priced Guaranteed replacement, as that pushes all that risk on to the insurer, rather than requiring me to guess what the rebuild cost of my home will be). I did run your automated advice system with my recent policy renewal. Reporting was pretty good, although I was surprised that you consider a $3000 deductible "abnormally high". I don't think it's worth trading money with the insurance company as premiums to cover small stuff like that. Not everyone shares my feelings, though.
      - chrisplotz 8y ago
        Yes, you're right - "abnormal" is a bit in the eye of the beholder. It would have been a relative assessment - a 3k deductible is much more than most people carry (even HNW, an area I've worked in before). On guessing rebuild, in CA you shouldn't have to guess, as it's the insurer's legal requirement to recommend something accurate, and the DOI supports the consumer there. Generally those increases will do the job on like-for-like replacement - the big problem is if your Building limit has not been reviewed for years, as they get out of date. Guaranteed is definitely expensive since it has cost insurers some big claim headaches, so not surprised it's even harder to find now as some insurers are hurting after all the fires.
DoreenMichele 8y ago
I think it would be good to specify what kind of policy you are talking about. You are apparently doing just renters and homeowners policies, but comments even within this discussion are talking about medical insurance. I don't know what a good, succinct term would be for both renters and homeowners coverage. I know that various kinds of real estate related magazines fall under the umbrella term of shelter magazines. A lot of people seem to not know that, which just highlights how hard it is to come up with a good umbrella term for such diverse things. But I think you need to try to clarify that somehow on your landing page. And if your advice app is broader than the renters/homeowners insurance niche, then specify that as well. I feel this is just not really clear at the moment. Best of luck. Insurance R hard. ;)
- ddispaltro 8y ago
  Was the website not clear or just this post? Yeah, great feedback. Property is probably the most general term, but technically it is property and casualty (liability).
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    The post was clearer than the website, but not 100% crystal clear. It leaves some wiggle room for creative interpretation. You might just go with property or A/B test it. Insurance industry terms are often confusing, even for industry insiders. When I paid accident claims, we went round and round as to what the best term was for the health care provider in question. "Provider" was the gold standard, but both customers and employees found that so vague as to be meaningless. "Life" claims actually meant "death" claims. It's when someone dies and you file a claim on your life insurance policy. (eyes cross) So you will need to maybe get with whomever your legal advisors are and whomever your marketing advisors are and find a term that both can accept.
- PaulHoule 8y ago
  I don't know if it makes sense to get renter's coverage. I had a friend who had his apartment burn, the first thing the cops asked him was if he had insurance, and the they told him they were very relieved, otherwise he would have been an arson suspect automatically. Homeowners generally do have insurance, so they don't face this stigma, but renter's coverage is rare enough that having it and using it makes you look like a crook.
jedberg 8y ago
Amusingly, the Farmer's Insurance website went down just as I was trying to get my decs page. :) I liked the flow, although I did have an issue where when I dragged the decs page onto the box in Safari it just opened the page, but once I got it uploaded it worked fine. Still waiting for my report now.
nickphx 8y ago
After uploading pdf from farmers I was told to click a link to verify my email address. I clicked the link and was taken to a page that told me to check my email and click the link. :D I refreshed the same page and the instructions updated.
- ddispaltro 8y ago
  It's eventually consistent :) I'll add it as a bug, thanks!
  - nickphx 8y ago
    Have you considered interfacing with the third party insurance customer sites to retrieve the insurance documents to process?
    - ddispaltro 8y ago
      I would love any such integration. But coverage-wise I think it's easier to do a simple upload at the moment.
sonyakop 8y ago
We started experimenting with building an automated insurance agent bot that would help someone purchase various types of insurance from a particular provider. This could easily be tweaked to provide different information/comparisons of various insurance types from various other providers/sources. You could also pull in public reviews/feedback to allow for rating and recommendations. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgMEkvEppM# https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgMEkvEppM#
arikr 8y ago
Suggestion: Show an example of the type of advice that it can automatically give on the homepage. I clicked through to the homepage but didn't necessarily believe that the automated advice could be great so I wasn't motivated enough to dig up a policy of mine and upload. Would be great to see the sort of advice/info it can give, presented as soon as you hit the advice page.
- ddispaltro 8y ago
  Yeah that's a great idea. Thanks!
phonon 8y ago
Your T&C are poor. "[add if applicable];" "You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a text hyperlink to the Site for noncommercial purposes, provided such link does not portray Goodcover or any of its products and services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise defamatory manner...This limited right may be revoked at any time." "You acknowledge and agree that any materials, including but not limited to questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, plans, notes, drawings, original or creative materials or other information, regarding the Site, Goodcover or Goodcover's products or services that are provided by you in the form of email or other submissions to Goodcover, or any postings on the Site, are non-confidential and shall become the sole property of Goodcover. Goodcover shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these materials for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you." "If you post User Content to the Site, unless we indicate otherwise, you grant Goodcover and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such User Content throughout the world in any media on or in connection with the Site and the promotion thereof. You grant Goodcover and its affiliates and sublicensees the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content, if we choose." "IN A WRITING"
- chrisplotz 8y ago
  Thanks for the feedback, happy to consider. Could you be more specific about what you would expect? That would help us make adjustments.
  - epoch_100 8y ago
    It seems like the ToS is just filled with typos and "insert here" type statements that you'd find in a template. I don't think there are specific items that the parent commenter is trying to change; instead, the entire document just seems sloppy... Best of luck with your business, but make sure the fundamental legal contract between you and your customers is thorough so that both you _and your customers_ are protected.
  - 8y ago
lucasjans 8y ago
If you focus on the risk management side of personal lines I think you're going to have a hard time to scale. The problem is most consumers don't care enough about coverage to shop for it. What attracts new clients is price, price, price. Clients unfortunately won't worry coverage until they really need it. The problem with focusing on price is you'll attract clients who won't renew after 3-5 years, messing up the retention numbers. Navigating the balance between those two will be critical. Now there is some space in the high-end personal lines for focus on protection. But there you're competing against entrenched insurance agents. Small commercial is also a very interesting space to explore. Protection is much more important for these people and the sales process is easier to automate (than med/large commercial.) --- I sold my startup in this space last year. We provided marketing automation for agents. Feel free to reach out.
- chrisplotz 8y ago
  Yes, I hear you on fighting the price war, and agree navigating a balance of price and coverage will be important. In our view, we intend to keep prices low through the use of technology and our dividend of risk profit, but definitely charge a sustainable premium for the cover we provide. Policyholders will be able to see where the money goes so it'll be an ongoing conversation. Would love to get in touch, will drop you a line.
- smarri 8y ago
  I couldn't agree more, I've been in personal lines (consumer) insurance for more than 10 years - price is king for the vast majority consumers. The issue this causes is insurers tend to discount new business premiums heavily and make a loss in years 1 and 2 (at least). The follow on problem for an insurer is the ease at which consumers can shop around, so retention rates are dropping - especially as the insurer will attept to regain some of that lost income at renewal by increasing the price. It's a buyers market. However cross selling add on cover is a common way to regain income. In any case, it's great to see innovation in insurance, and good luck for the future! (PS. are you intending to be a broker or actually underwrite the insurance policies?)
slope12345 8y ago
Have you seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETUVcm5rU_4&t=13s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETUVcm5rU_4&t=13s Might be a simple way for you to get it done.

97 points by chrisplotz 8y ago

chrisplotz 8y ago

Chris Lotz, cofounder of Goodcover here. The team and I are around and happy to answer any questions. Would love to hear any feedback too! Particularly around the user flow, and whether our instructions make sense. Thanks!

sfbay 8y ago
Hi Chris, This is a great service for almost 70% of the population who don't know what events are not covered and the fine print gotchas from the insurance companies. This should be a really helpful service, kudos on the idea. The only concern I have here is, privacy. Most of the home owners are not comfortable to upload docs that includes their names or property details (easy to know their net worth) from this. Also, how are you managing data security? Do you have any plans to address these concerns?
- chrisplotz 8y ago
  Thanks! You make a really good point on privacy - insurance is a trust business and managing this right is really important. We delete Dec pages w/in 30 days (we don't need to keep them past giving you the advice), so that's a start and something we don't mention on the site but should. We also never expose user data, or show you what you've uploaded. Unfortunately though to get insurance advice, property details are pretty important, and if you are concerned with your Liability coverage net worth is pretty important for a service to know too. What we don't need are names - actually people could black out that personal info (even address) and it would be fine!
  - nickpsecurity 8y ago
    "(even address)" I thought geography factored into deciding premiums since different areas had different risks of specific events that would lead to an insurance payout. Does what you all are doing simply not need that? Or are you saying that analysis can be left off if they desire for privacy? Edit: Thanks for the info!
    - chrisplotz 8y ago
      Geography is important, but your specific street address isn't required for this tool. And really, most insurance pricing is done at a higher level than street address (zip, or insurer-defined territories) so actually it is one of the last bits of info needed. For rough advice as this gives, we don't need it.
    - ddispaltro 8y ago
      Dan at Goodcover. The later. It's a factor for insurance premiums, because being in an urban landscape vs a wooded area has a massively different fire risk.
- dyim 8y ago
  Man, I bet it's even higher than 70%. I was in the hospital in February, and I asked the nurse how much it would cost to drain a subungual hematoma. Nobody knew! Maybe it would've been free; maybe it would've cost $1,000 - it definitely doesn't feel good to decline a procedure because you have no idea how much it'll cost.
tgb 8y ago
I was just within the last hour look at renter's insurance, so I appreciate the goal of the company. It doesn't look like you currently give advice for people comparing different offers - is that something you plan to do? Also, I didn't understand your description of "returning any unclaimed premium back to customers, keeping a fee instead". Being not too familiar with insurance, can you give an example of how this would work?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- chrisplotz 8y ago
  Thanks - and good luck with your renters insurance search. You're right we don't currently give advice for comparing through the tool - but I've written about it on our blog, and have a even more low tech comparison tool there (google sheet!). https://blog.goodcover.com/save-time-and-buy-home-condo-renter-insurance-with-confidence-98b1e4526f48 https://blog.goodcover.com/save-time-and-buy-home-condo-rent... Hopefully that could help you out in the mean time. Regarding returning unclaimed premium - good question. The way insurers make money is by 1) collecting premiums and holding on to them, generating some interest, and 2) keeping more premium than they need to pay out in losses and expenses, which is called "Underwriting Profit." Typically Home/Renters insurance is written in such a way that a company tries to keep 5-15% of premiums as Underwriting Profit. We think that the conflict over underwriting profit is at the heart of why the insurance experience is bad - there's not much incentive in improving a user experience that you don't want users to use... So we want to give that 5-15% back in the good years where we don't need it to pay claims. So, what you would see is a dividend at the end of the insurance year. It's not going to be much, but it is "putting our money where our mouth is" on our commitment to policyholders. Turns out that's really hard to do legally and financially - mutual insurers would technically do this, but starting one is a hugely capital intensive process. We're on the path, and hope to be able to share more about the process soon!
  - berbec 8y ago
    A question about this "dividend". Obviously, this is a major source of profit for a insurance company, but I imagine is also used to refill reserves after a big payout year. Insurers must have been piling cash away for years after Andrew, Katrina, Sandy etc to recoop payouts. How would this balance with returning money on good years?
secabeen 8y ago
Are there any California HO providers that still offer Guaranteed Replacement? I had it at one point with AAA, but they jacked rates on me, and it got too expensive. I'd like to get it again, but haven't been able to find it.
- chrisplotz 8y ago
  Typically Guaranteed replacement is offered by HNW providers such as PURE, AIG, and Chubb. Travelers might do so too. It's hard to find though, so talking to an insurance broker that can access those specialist markets (i.e. they do not sell online) might be your best shot. Also, most insurers will offer some kind of Extended Replacement Cost which pretty much does the job too. Interesting development though is in CA, insurers are legally required to recommend you a replacement cost coverage amount that is adequate for your place. That probably has a lot to do with the changes you've seen on "guaranteeing" something vs just recommending.
  - secabeen 8y ago
    Yeah, the HNW policies are also stupid expensive. AAA was the only provider for normal people I found that still offered it. Extended replacement cost theoretically does the job, but in coastal california, we're already looking at rebuild costs in the $300+/sqft level. Add in the cost increase from labor shortages, and I could see it spiking significantly above that. (Looking at my policy, I see the Extended Replacement providing 30% more than baseline, and 80% more than baseline for FEMA declared disaster, which I suppose is probably enough. I still prefer reasonably priced Guaranteed replacement, as that pushes all that risk on to the insurer, rather than requiring me to guess what the rebuild cost of my home will be). I did run your automated advice system with my recent policy renewal. Reporting was pretty good, although I was surprised that you consider a $3000 deductible "abnormally high". I don't think it's worth trading money with the insurance company as premiums to cover small stuff like that. Not everyone shares my feelings, though.
    - chrisplotz 8y ago
      Yes, you're right - "abnormal" is a bit in the eye of the beholder. It would have been a relative assessment - a 3k deductible is much more than most people carry (even HNW, an area I've worked in before). On guessing rebuild, in CA you shouldn't have to guess, as it's the insurer's legal requirement to recommend something accurate, and the DOI supports the consumer there. Generally those increases will do the job on like-for-like replacement - the big problem is if your Building limit has not been reviewed for years, as they get out of date. Guaranteed is definitely expensive since it has cost insurers some big claim headaches, so not surprised it's even harder to find now as some insurers are hurting after all the fires.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

I think it would be good to specify what kind of policy you are talking about. You are apparently doing just renters and homeowners policies, but comments even within this discussion are talking about medical insurance. I don't know what a good, succinct term would be for both renters and homeowners coverage. I know that various kinds of real estate related magazines fall under the umbrella term of shelter magazines. A lot of people seem to not know that, which just highlights how hard it is to come up with a good umbrella term for such diverse things. But I think you need to try to clarify that somehow on your landing page. And if your advice app is broader than the renters/homeowners insurance niche, then specify that as well. I feel this is just not really clear at the moment. Best of luck. Insurance R hard. ;)

ddispaltro 8y ago
Was the website not clear or just this post? Yeah, great feedback. Property is probably the most general term, but technically it is property and casualty (liability).
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  The post was clearer than the website, but not 100% crystal clear. It leaves some wiggle room for creative interpretation. You might just go with property or A/B test it. Insurance industry terms are often confusing, even for industry insiders. When I paid accident claims, we went round and round as to what the best term was for the health care provider in question. "Provider" was the gold standard, but both customers and employees found that so vague as to be meaningless. "Life" claims actually meant "death" claims. It's when someone dies and you file a claim on your life insurance policy. (eyes cross) So you will need to maybe get with whomever your legal advisors are and whomever your marketing advisors are and find a term that both can accept.
PaulHoule 8y ago
I don't know if it makes sense to get renter's coverage. I had a friend who had his apartment burn, the first thing the cops asked him was if he had insurance, and the they told him they were very relieved, otherwise he would have been an arson suspect automatically. Homeowners generally do have insurance, so they don't face this stigma, but renter's coverage is rare enough that having it and using it makes you look like a crook.

jedberg 8y ago

Amusingly, the Farmer's Insurance website went down just as I was trying to get my decs page. :) I liked the flow, although I did have an issue where when I dragged the decs page onto the box in Safari it just opened the page, but once I got it uploaded it worked fine. Still waiting for my report now.

nickphx 8y ago

After uploading pdf from farmers I was told to click a link to verify my email address. I clicked the link and was taken to a page that told me to check my email and click the link. :D I refreshed the same page and the instructions updated.

ddispaltro 8y ago
It's eventually consistent :) I'll add it as a bug, thanks!
- nickphx 8y ago
  Have you considered interfacing with the third party insurance customer sites to retrieve the insurance documents to process?
  - ddispaltro 8y ago
    I would love any such integration. But coverage-wise I think it's easier to do a simple upload at the moment.

sonyakop 8y ago

We started experimenting with building an automated insurance agent bot that would help someone purchase various types of insurance from a particular provider. This could easily be tweaked to provide different information/comparisons of various insurance types from various other providers/sources. You could also pull in public reviews/feedback to allow for rating and recommendations. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgMEkvEppM# https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgMEkvEppM#

arikr 8y ago

Suggestion: Show an example of the type of advice that it can automatically give on the homepage. I clicked through to the homepage but didn't necessarily believe that the automated advice could be great so I wasn't motivated enough to dig up a policy of mine and upload. Would be great to see the sort of advice/info it can give, presented as soon as you hit the advice page.

ddispaltro 8y ago
Yeah that's a great idea. Thanks!

phonon 8y ago

Your T&C are poor. "[add if applicable];" "You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a text hyperlink to the Site for noncommercial purposes, provided such link does not portray Goodcover or any of its products and services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise defamatory manner...This limited right may be revoked at any time." "You acknowledge and agree that any materials, including but not limited to questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, plans, notes, drawings, original or creative materials or other information, regarding the Site, Goodcover or Goodcover's products or services that are provided by you in the form of email or other submissions to Goodcover, or any postings on the Site, are non-confidential and shall become the sole property of Goodcover. Goodcover shall own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, and shall be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of these materials for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you." "If you post User Content to the Site, unless we indicate otherwise, you grant Goodcover and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such User Content throughout the world in any media on or in connection with the Site and the promotion thereof. You grant Goodcover and its affiliates and sublicensees the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content, if we choose." "IN A WRITING"

chrisplotz 8y ago
Thanks for the feedback, happy to consider. Could you be more specific about what you would expect? That would help us make adjustments.
- epoch_100 8y ago
  It seems like the ToS is just filled with typos and "insert here" type statements that you'd find in a template. I don't think there are specific items that the parent commenter is trying to change; instead, the entire document just seems sloppy... Best of luck with your business, but make sure the fundamental legal contract between you and your customers is thorough so that both you _and your customers_ are protected.
- 8y ago

lucasjans 8y ago

If you focus on the risk management side of personal lines I think you're going to have a hard time to scale. The problem is most consumers don't care enough about coverage to shop for it. What attracts new clients is price, price, price. Clients unfortunately won't worry coverage until they really need it. The problem with focusing on price is you'll attract clients who won't renew after 3-5 years, messing up the retention numbers. Navigating the balance between those two will be critical. Now there is some space in the high-end personal lines for focus on protection. But there you're competing against entrenched insurance agents. Small commercial is also a very interesting space to explore. Protection is much more important for these people and the sales process is easier to automate (than med/large commercial.) --- I sold my startup in this space last year. We provided marketing automation for agents. Feel free to reach out.

chrisplotz 8y ago
Yes, I hear you on fighting the price war, and agree navigating a balance of price and coverage will be important. In our view, we intend to keep prices low through the use of technology and our dividend of risk profit, but definitely charge a sustainable premium for the cover we provide. Policyholders will be able to see where the money goes so it'll be an ongoing conversation. Would love to get in touch, will drop you a line.
smarri 8y ago
I couldn't agree more, I've been in personal lines (consumer) insurance for more than 10 years - price is king for the vast majority consumers. The issue this causes is insurers tend to discount new business premiums heavily and make a loss in years 1 and 2 (at least). The follow on problem for an insurer is the ease at which consumers can shop around, so retention rates are dropping - especially as the insurer will attept to regain some of that lost income at renewal by increasing the price. It's a buyers market. However cross selling add on cover is a common way to regain income. In any case, it's great to see innovation in insurance, and good luck for the future! (PS. are you intending to be a broker or actually underwrite the insurance policies?)

slope12345 8y ago

Have you seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETUVcm5rU_4&t=13s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETUVcm5rU_4&t=13s Might be a simple way for you to get it done.