Insurtech start-up Slice offers home-share insurance to hosts
Insurtech start-up Slice has launched a commercial insurance product aimed at home-sharing hosts in California, according to the state's Department of Insurance. Slice's coverage is aimed at homeowners who offer up their homes for short-term rental on platforms like Airbnb, HomeAway, OneFineStay and FlipKey. The policies can be purchased via the firm's mobile app or online, and they cover the host's home for the entire rental period — from one day to several weeks. 

Slice Insurance Technologies, an insurtech company offering on-demand, short-term insurance coverage, is now selling its commercial lines insurance product for homesharing hosts in California.

The California Department of Insurance said that the surplus lines broker is coming into the market to give Airbnb and other homeshare hosts a new insurance option.

“This start-up is offering an innovative product to the California market, giving consumers the opportunity to purchase a product designed to meet their unique coverage need,” Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement. “We continue to encourage insurers to develop new products that fulfill the demands of a technology-driven economy. The department welcomes Slice to the California market and looks forward to more start-ups and traditional companies filing products in the future.”

Slice’s insurance product is specifically designed for homeshare hosts who participate in platforms such as AirBnb, HomeAway, OneFineStay and FlipKey. The commercial insurance policy can be purchased via app or online, and it covers the time period hosts rent their homes, whether for a day, a week, or other timeframe.

Slice has been offering the coverage in Iowa since last fall. In March, it expanded sales on a limited basis in five additional states: Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington.

The tech startup has also created a pay-per-use rideshare insurance app and is now testing the technology with a select set of rideshare drivers.

Slice, which is based in New York, disclosed in March 2016 an initial $3.9 million of seed funding from XL Catlin’s XL Innovate and Horizon Ventures. Tusk Ventures is also a backer. Last July, Munich Re signed on as a coverage partner.

Slice and Munich Re have agreed to an ongoing rollout of products and territories with Slice creating the technology platform to deliver products directly to consumers. The Slice platform includes automated underwriting rules agreed upon by Munich Re. Slice handles service and processing of claims.

Homeshare platforms like Airbnb tend to offer limited property damage and liability protection for hosts who rent their space using their sites.

Traditional insurers are also moving into this homeshare space.

Last spring, giant Allstate began offering homesharing protection in six states — Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Utah — and said it plans to expand it to others this year.

Last November, ISO, the policy and rate development organization used by many P/C insurers, introduced homesharing insurance options for insurers to adopt for their home insurance customers who might rent or share their properties.

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Topics California InsurTech Tech Homeowners