Insurtech launches exclusive line of insurance

An insurtech that positions itself as the first Canadian company to specialize exclusively in tenant insurance has launched after months of research and development.

Montreal-based Allset launched last week, using a “matching” algorithm to compare the tenant’s needs to over 10 insurance companies’ offers in real time to find the best coverage. Allset reports on its website that its technology offers “personalized coverage and price in less than four minutes.” It “covers everything the tenant owns in their apartment or carries with them.”

According to a consumer survey conducted two years ago by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), 37% of Quebec tenants do not have home insurance. Allset noted that many tenants wrongly believe that their landlord’s insurance will provide compensation, or that their goods are not valuable enough to warrant insurance.

“Our target customers are 25- to 35-year-old young professionals living in urban areas,” Allset co-founder and CEO, Xavier Freeman, told Canadian Underwriter Wednesday. “For them, tenant insurance is often the first insurance product that they will need and we want to be there for that. It is also a product that’s easier to sell digitally.”

Allset’s algorithm first analyzes information provided by customers, such as location, building information, education, marital status and insurance needs, to recommend the coverage they need. “Then, we connect in real-time to different insurance companies to see which one has the best fit based on product offering, risk appetite and pricing,” Freeman said. “We present the best offer we have found to our users and they can buy the coverage directly with us.”

Allset has already seen its customer base grow drastically, Freeman said. “One key factor in our growth is our engaged customer base,” he said. “Our customers are surprised by our new offering on the market and they like to spread the word with their family and friends.”

The company has launched in Quebec, with plans to expand nationally in the future. It is also looking for partners to facilitate its expansion across the country and is open to collaboration.

Are there any plans to move into other areas of coverage besides just tenant insurance?

“Yes, for sure,” Freeman said. “We’re lucky to have a very engaged customer base and we will let them decide which products we should offer next. With this approach, we make sure that we offer products that people really want. We have the engineering team in-house and the relationships with key carriers to make it happen.”