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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

#51

Post by chrisplotz »

funwhilelost wrote: post #48
chrisplotz wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your question, it's an important one, and deserves more than a handwave answer. When we started Goodcover, our goal was to make it so we were not in conflict with our Members - and the core of this is a cooperative model. The original business model we were looking for is known as a "Reciprocal Exchange" (RE) - a type of co-op or mutual (like you mention) where the members own the claims capital, but the b…

Thanks for sharing this extra detail. Your industry is obviously much trickier to navigate than the service industry our worker co-op is in. Do your members get any voting rights or other feedback mechanisms?

No problem, it's important I think. It is a heavily regulated industry so we always have to be mindful of what is legal, what is going to get regulatory approval, and what we actually want that will serve Members the best.

On voting rights - we haven't worked out how to legally do so, but we're experimenting with ideas over how to give the community more control. Would love to brainstorm ideas! Feel free to reach out, chris @ goodcover com

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

#52

Post by chrisplotz »

TheBill wrote: post #49

Hey, product looks awesome, something I would put time into: Large landlords: They often mandate specific coverage, and will cross sell & promote you into their tennant email/welcome kits. EQR requires something like 100K of liability in the bay area, gives you 30 days from lease effective or so to secure a policy or they auto enroll you in a $10/Mo from another vendor.

Thanks! And yes, great idea. So far we've been seeing a lot of landlord-provided policies, and we beat them by wide margins. By pitching ease of use and great coverage for the minimum possible tax on their tenants I hope will be a win!

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

#53

Post by chrisplotz »

pmiller2 wrote: post #50
chrisplotz wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your comment. The default scales with our property coverage (and you can top it up too) ending up at $50k total. What number would you be looking for here?

Why should the relocation benefit scale with the value of my stuff?

Great question - volume of stuff is proxy for your estimated increased cost of living. More stuff, more likely to have a bigger household, higher everyday living expenses (hence, "additional living expenses" would be even more!) It's not perfect, which is why it's adjustable, but have to start somewhere.

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

#54

Post by carterehsmith »

chrisplotz wrote: post #42
jawns wrote: post #38

Wait, is Goodcover an actual cooperative, as a business structure? Because that has a specific meaning, especially with regard to insurance. (And there are a lot of mutual insurance companies out there that are genuinely, 100 percent member-owned.) But you mention venture capital and a rate of return for your capital partners. So how is Goodcover what you say it is? Sounds like a for-profit company to me. Saying you…

Thanks for your question, it's an important one, and deserves more than a handwave answer. When we started Goodcover, our goal was to make it so we were not in conflict with our Members - and the core of this is a cooperative model. The original business model we were looking for is known as a "Reciprocal Exchange" (RE) - a type of co-op or mutual (like you mention) where the members own the claims capital, but the b…

>> we don't really look like your 1920s co-op!

Thats is not good marketing -- do you want customers to believe that you are the only innovation that happened in the field of _insurance_ (worth what, many trillions of dollars a year? ) in 100 years?

That sounds like a scam. You may want to change the pitch, just my 5c.

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

#55

Post by chrisplotz »

carterehsmith wrote: post #54
chrisplotz wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your question, it's an important one, and deserves more than a handwave answer. When we started Goodcover, our goal was to make it so we were not in conflict with our Members - and the core of this is a cooperative model. The original business model we were looking for is known as a "Reciprocal Exchange" (RE) - a type of co-op or mutual (like you mention) where the members own the claims capital, but the b…

>> we don't really look like your 1920s co-op! Thats is not good marketing -- do you want customers to believe that you are the only innovation that happened in the field of _insurance_ (worth what, many trillions of dollars a year? ) in 100 years? That sounds like a scam. You may want to change the pitch, just my 5c.

Thanks for the feedback, that's not my intention. We're definitely not claiming we're the only innovation in 100 years.

However the environment those companies started in is gone. Insurers went in and out of business all the time in the 1920s and 30s, it's the survivors who are left (I think it really is amazing how many of the top insurers started in the 20s and 30s!). It's good there's more regulation and safety for insureds.

It does mean though we have to work in the current framework to get things done - the companies of the 1920s can't be started the same way in the 2020s.

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

#56

Post by pmiller2 »

chrisplotz wrote: post #53
pmiller2 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should the relocation benefit scale with the value of my stuff?

Great question - volume of stuff is proxy for your estimated increased cost of living. More stuff, more likely to have a bigger household, higher everyday living expenses (hence, "additional living expenses" would be even more!) It's not perfect, which is why it's adjustable, but have to start somewhere.

That makes sense on a surface level, but wouldn't a better proxy for CoL be zip code + gross living area? GLA essentially encompasses your "more stuff -> more expensive" model, and zip code should provide an approximation of what the baseline cost of housing is in the area.

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

#57

Post by sraquo »

pmiller2 wrote: post #56
chrisplotz wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question - volume of stuff is proxy for your estimated increased cost of living. More stuff, more likely to have a bigger household, higher everyday living expenses (hence, "additional living expenses" would be even more!) It's not perfect, which is why it's adjustable, but have to start somewhere.

That makes sense on a surface level, but wouldn't a better proxy for CoL be zip code + gross living area? GLA essentially encompasses your "more stuff -> more expensive" model, and zip code should provide an approximation of what the baseline cost of housing is in the area.

(Goodcover dev here)

It could be, along with say family size. But the UX cost of asking such questions is real, especially on an insurance application form. People get worried why we want to know such things so early on.

Today we're able to provide a pretty good estimate with no personal details, nothing but a zip code in fact. We might work the zip code into temp housing default at some point, but it's not without issues. Changes to the property temp housing link built into our rating require solid data and regulatory approvals.

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

#58

Post by chiph »

I think you made a good choice in picking renter's as your first policy offering. It's not complex, many people are required to have it (as a landlord, I certainly require it of my tenants), and you won't have a tough time getting some reinsurance for your policies.

How will you deal with aggregator sites? Will you allow scraping?

Best of luck.

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

#59

Post by chrisplotz »

chiph wrote: post #58

I think you made a good choice in picking renter's as your first policy offering. It's not complex, many people are required to have it (as a landlord, I certainly require it of my tenants), and you won't have a tough time getting some reinsurance for your policies. How will you deal with aggregator sites? Will you allow scraping? Best of luck.

Thanks!

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) you're asking about comparison sites - in those cases the law requires them to establish an agency relationship. We're open to it and think we'll compete well, but much like Southwest it would be hard to give better prices anywhere else than our own site.

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

#60

Post by pmiller2 »

sraquo wrote: post #57
pmiller2 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That makes sense on a surface level, but wouldn't a better proxy for CoL be zip code + gross living area? GLA essentially encompasses your "more stuff -> more expensive" model, and zip code should provide an approximation of what the baseline cost of housing is in the area.

(Goodcover dev here) It could be, along with say family size. But the UX cost of asking such questions is real, especially on an insurance application form. People get worried why we want to know such things so early on. Today we're able to provide a pretty good estimate with no personal details, nothing but a zip code in fact. We might work the zip code into temp housing default at some point, but it's not without i…

Sounds to me like an A/B test is warranted.
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