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Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

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Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#72

Post by neil_s »

This is such a well-written community resource, educating members and not just promoting the service. Thanks!

Question: does someone like me need renter's insurance? I rent a bedroom in the owner's flat, don't have anything super valuable in there and am not required by the owner to have insurance. If I'm comfortable self-insuring my personal belongings, is there any other outsized risk that would justify paying $60/year?

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#73

Post by ddispaltro »

neil_s wrote: post #72

This is such a well-written community resource, educating members and not just promoting the service. Thanks! Question: does someone like me need renter's insurance? I rent a bedroom in the owner's flat, don't have anything super valuable in there and am not required by the owner to have insurance. If I'm comfortable self-insuring my personal belongings, is there any other outsized risk that would justify paying $60/…

Thank you! Probably the most outsized risk is liability, basically if you're sued for something related to the property (had a party and someone broke their leg) your insurance company will defend you up to your liability limit.

Edit: Also keep in mind our renter's insurance (and most others) covers you wherever you are, so if your laptop is stolen out of a coffee shop, it's covered. Also if there's a fire in your building and your stuff is not damaged but you have to move out, renters insurance covers additional living expenses.

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#74

Post by chrisplotz »

plttn wrote: post #71

I'm actually curious on this: how broad is the coverage on say computers? This is HN, so would say a home server be covered?

Good question - yes. "Home computers" would cover it. Just be sure to check the limit you're buying and that it's adequate for the amount of equipment you have.

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#75

Post by wpietri »

chrisplotz wrote: post #44
NicolasGorden wrote: post #43

Great business concept. I loved the write up, made me think of my own trials and tribulations as an ex-entrepreneur. As a marketing guy though, I saw a few points I'll mention in case you want to implement. I'm sure the editing will improve your conversion rate: 1- Authority logos - I'm pretty sure the average renter won't recognize them. Find more recognizable logos to use, or don't use them. The whole purpose of au…

Thanks for the advice! As an insurance guy... I am always in need of advice from marketing folks! So thanks again.

I'll just add that I loved the packages on the front page. I never bothered with renter's insurance, because it seemed like a hassle and I have been willing to self-insure. But seeing my options immediately made me think, "Maybe I should!"

Please do put a jobs page up, though. Your thoughtful and frank description here definitely has me curious.

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#76

Post by chrisplotz »

xivzgrev wrote: post #69

How are you different than lemonade? I use them And sounds like same approach

Thanks for your question. Apart from the structural difference (MGA vs. balance-sheet carrier) the main one is our business model. It allows us to offer better coverage for less money, and a Member Dividend.

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#77

Post by chrisplotz »

eaenki wrote: post #65

Hi! I have 3 questions: 1) how much, in total, excluding your own hours, did the regulatory compliance stuff cost to launch just 1 product in 1 state? 2) how much would it cost to launch that same product in 50 states? 3) since you didn’t want to have x3 or more sitting in the bank you chose to go with a re-insurer. And that took a year. Why was it that hard? Did you need a connection?

Thanks for your questions! So, the actual cost of the regulatory filing part isn't that high in dollars, it isn't necessarily cost prohibitive. The real issue is building a unique insurance product, the underwriting for it, the pricing model, and all that good stuff - and then finding the reinsurance and primary insurance partners that will go to this new place with you. Knowing people helps, track records are important, the strength of your underlying models (industry vets at those companies will put them through the wringer). And then you need to do that 49 more times...

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#78

Post by chrisplotz »

wpietri wrote: post #75
chrisplotz wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the advice! As an insurance guy... I am always in need of advice from marketing folks! So thanks again.

I'll just add that I loved the packages on the front page. I never bothered with renter's insurance, because it seemed like a hassle and I have been willing to self-insure. But seeing my options immediately made me think, "Maybe I should!" Please do put a jobs page up, though. Your thoughtful and frank description here definitely has me curious.

Thanks! Yeah it was always annoying to us that you needed to give away all your personal details before you even found out whether something would be worth it, so we wanted to be different. Glad to hear you like it!

On a jobs page, thanks for your interest! We have something up on AngelList right now: https://angel.co/company/goodcover-co/jobs

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#79

Post by ZeroCool2u »

chrisplotz wrote: post #11
ZeroCool2u wrote: post #10

This is a really cool idea! Looking forward to seeing availability in New York.

Thanks!! You don't have to, but if you punch in you zip on the site and leave your email we'll let you know when we're there!

Done!

Re: Launch HN: Goodcover (YC S17) – Cooperative renters insurance for half the price

#80

Post by wpietri »

chrisplotz wrote: post #78
wpietri wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll just add that I loved the packages on the front page. I never bothered with renter's insurance, because it seemed like a hassle and I have been willing to self-insure. But seeing my options immediately made me think, "Maybe I should!" Please do put a jobs page up, though. Your thoughtful and frank description here definitely has me curious.

Thanks! Yeah it was always annoying to us that you needed to give away all your personal details before you even found out whether something would be worth it, so we wanted to be different. Glad to hear you like it! On a jobs page, thanks for your interest! We have something up on AngelList right now: https://angel.co/company/goodcover-co/jobs

Alas, I suspect I'm not FP-ish enough for that role, but I appreciate you pointing it out. Good luck with your efforts!
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