Lemonade Expands Home Insurance Offering in the UK
Lemonade, the digital insurance company powered by AI and social impact, announced the launch of Buildings and Contents insurance in the United Kingdom. Expanding the company’s home insurance offerings, homeowners throughout the UK can now purchase extensive coverage for their home and belongings.
Since launching in the UK in October 2022 and becoming a PRA-licensed carrier, the UK has quickly become one of Lemonade’s fastest growing markets. The launch of buildings and contents insurance, with the ongoing partnership of established insurer Aviva, will bolster Lemonade’s continued growth.
“The UK has proven to be an exciting market for us with a large digitally-savvy population who appreciate an easy, personalized experience,” said Daniel Schreiber, Lemonade CEO and co-founder. “Growing our home insurance offerings this quickly is a tribute to our incredible team and our thriving partnership with Aviva.”
Designed specifically for UK customers and with a Defaqto 5 star rating, homeowners can get instantly covered through the Lemonade app or online starting from £14 a month*. In addition to base coverage (rebuild costs, temporary accommodation, civil and property liability) and flexible contents coverage up to £100,000, Lemonade’s Buildings & Contents insurance also provides a suite of add-ons to provide full-scope coverage and flexibility, including:
– Home emergency: Emergency assistance provided in case of events such as a broken boiler, burst pipes, broken locks or electrical failures.
– Accidental damage: Coverage provided for unexpected accidental events that damage your content or home.
– Theft and Loss: Theft and accidental loss in and outside your home is covered; bikes, laptops, and phones are included.
– Legal Protection: Specialized legal assistance provided in handling disputes about the insured home, clinical negligence, and contracts of employment.
“We’re excited to expand our partnership with Lemonade in the UK, building on our first product launch in 2022,” said Jon Marsh, MD Partnerships and Transformation, Personal Insurance at Aviva. “Aviva and Lemonade share common values and by working together we can create compelling new propositions and experiences for customers.”
Residents of the UK can now buy a new policy through the Lemonade app, lemonade.com/uk.
Lemonade is licensed and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). Lemonade operates in the UK through its UK branch establishment, authorized by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Ecclesiastical tops Fairer Finance tables for 18th time
Ecclesiastical has retained its top spot in the Fairer Finance Home Insurance league table for a record eighteenth time and remains the UK’s most trusted home insurance provider.
The specialist insurer topped the list of 50 insurers including household names such as NFU Mutual, NatWest, Churchill and Nationwide – retaining Gold Ribbon status for another year.
Fairer Finance, an independent consumer group, surveys around 20,000 UK banking and insurance customers throughout the year, asking them to rate how satisfied they are with their bank or insurance company.
Customers are asked to rate the firms on happiness and trust. Fairer Finance then uses records from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to assess complaints handling and a combination of mystery shopping and policy document reviews to assess transparency.
Ecclesiastical came first in most trusted and customer happiness achieving an overall customer experience score of 83% to top the table once again – over 10% higher than closest rivals NFU Mutual.
Mark Hews, group chief executive of Benefact Group, the parent company of Ecclesiastical, said: “It’s fantastic news that we’re once again the most trusted insurer in the Fairer Finance league tables. Customers choose to insure with us because they know we are committed to delivering the best possible service for our customers and this recognition is a testament to their efforts.
“Being owned by a charity, all of our available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give. That charitable purpose feels even more relevant in these difficult times and spurs us on to grow the business.
“I’m so proud to have been recognised as the most trusted home insurer once again, and it will help us to grow to give even more to good causes.”
James Daley, Managing Director at Fairer Finance, said: “Ecclesiastical has come top of our home insurance tables for an impressive 18th time in a row – and is widening the gap between itself and its nearest competitors.
“Consumer Duty has raised the bar for all insurers – but we’ve seen many home insurers lose ground both in terms of customer trust and transparency over the last year. Ecclesiastical continues to lead the way. We’d love to see more insurers taking a leaf out of their book.”
See the full Fairer Finance Autumn 2023 ratings
Ecclesiastical tops Fairer Finance tables for 17th time
The specialist insurer topped the list of 50 insurers including household names such as NFU Mutual, TSB, Nationwide and NatWest – retaining Gold Ribbon status for another year.
Fairer Finance, an independent consumer group, surveys around 20,000 UK banking and insurance customers throughout the year, asking them to rate how satisfied they are with their bank or insurance company.
Customers are asked to rate the firms on happiness and trust. Fairer Finance then uses records from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to assess complaints handling and a combination of mystery shopping and policy document reviews to assess transparency.
Ecclesiastical came first in most trusted and customer happiness, and second for complaints handling, achieving an overall customer experience score of 83% to top the table once again – 4% higher than closest rivals NFU Mutual.
Mark Hews, group chief executive of Benefact Group, the parent company of Ecclesiastical, said: “It’s fantastic news that we’re once again the most trusted insurer in the Fairer Finance league tables. Our teams have shown that they are committed to delivering the best possible service for our customers and this recognition is testament to their efforts.
“Being owned by a charity, we measure our success less in terms of the profit we make, but more in terms of the amount we give away to good causes. That charitable purpose feels even more relevant in these difficult times and spurs us on to grow the business.
“I’m so proud to have been recognised as the most trusted home insurer once again, and it will help us to grow to give even more to good causes.”
James Daley, Managing Director at Fairer Finance, said: “Ecclesiastical continues to lead the way in terms of customer experience in the insurance sector – topping our home insurance tables for the 17th time in a row.
“That’s a feat that no other firm in any other financial services sector has managed. Many congratulations to Ecclesiastical.”
See the full Fairer Finance Spring 2023 ratings at the Fairer Finance website.
Amazon debuts home insurance store in the UK
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is launching a home insurance portal in Britain and has signed up three big-name insurers as it pushes further into financial services across the globe.
Ageas UK (AGES.BR), Co-op, and LV= General Insurance, a unit of German insurer Allianz (ALVG.DE), will provide third-party services initially, Amazon said on Wednesday, and it hopes to add more insurers “early next year”.
Moneysupermarket.com’s (MONY.L) shares slumped more than 8% on Wednesday following the news that Amazon will be stepping into the insurance-price comparison market.
“Amazon will be a major threat if it earnestly invests and focuses its efforts in this market,” Peel Hunt analysts said in a note, adding that insurance – including home insurance – makes up around 43% of Moneysupermarket’s business.
Moneysupermarket said earlier this week it expected annual core profit to be at the upper end of market views, as the cost-of-living crisis in Britain focused consumers’ minds on saving money.
Other firms operating comparison sites include Uswitch, Compare the Market and GoCompare, owned by Future (FUTR.L), whose shares fell by more than 3%.
Insurers worry that tech firms will steal a march on their business, and are keen to partner with them, offering them commissions for selling their products.
The Amazon portal was “an exciting move for the industry”, said Simon Hird, partnerships director at LV= General Insurance.
The site would give insurance customers more choice over how they buy cover, said Charles Offord, managing Director, Co-op Insurance.
Amazon has been considering launching a comparison website in Britain for several years. Reuters reported exclusively on its plans in 2018.
The new portal, Amazon Insurance Store, will also include customer reviews and ratings on insurance companies and the rate at which the claims were accepted for policies offered, Amazon said.
Amazon partnered with Lloyd’s broker Superscript last year to offer insurance to small and medium-sized UK business customers.
It started offering motor insurance in India in 2020 through Acko General Insurance and also provides product warranty insurance in Europe.
It also launched a buy-now pay-later scheme in Britain with Barclays (BARC.L) last year.
Swiss Re’s iptiQ and IKEA partner to launch affordable and easily accessible home insurance
– iptiQ and IKEA created and launched HEMSÄKER, an affordable and easily accessible home insuranceiptiQ provides the global insurance proposition, which is available as part of IKEA’s customer offering and tailored to individual markets
– HEMSÄKER’s fully digital journey enables customers to purchase insurance from any digital device in a matter of minutes
– Swiss Re’s iptiQ and IKEA today announced the launch of HEMSÄKER, a home insurance offering which provides easily accessible protection at an affordable price. HEMSÄKER, which can be purchased online via the IKEA website in a matter of minutes, was created to extend home insurance to more people and in turn increase their financial resilience. Created by iptiQ and IKEA, HEMSÄKER is initially introduced in Switzerland and Singapore.
– Swiss Re’s digital platform iptiQ is a white-label provider of Property and Casualty as well as Life and Health insurance solutions. The unique B2B2C business model enables brands such as IKEA to provide innovative new services for their customers by rolling out bespoke insurance offerings using the iptiQ platform.
Andreas Schertzinger, CEO iptiQ EMEA P&C, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with IKEA to offer HEMSÄKER to consumers – a tailored home insurance that can be purchased with a few clicks using any digital device. By combining our state-of-the-art digital platform iptiQ with IKEA’s customer access, we provide peace of mind to more people – and help them get back on their feet quickly after an incident.”
Jessica Anderen, CEO IKEA Switzerland: “Our vision is to help people create a better everyday life. Every year, we visit many people at home to better understand what is important to them and two topics keep coming up: security and privacy. Both are essential for people to feel comfortable in their homes. With HEMSÄKER, we are proud to offer home insurance for the first time, thanks to our insurance partner iptiQ. HEMSÄKER uses easy-to-understand everyday language and can be purchased in a matter of minutes.”
iptiQ’s digital insurance, underwriting and claims expertise enables a fresh take on home insurance. Together, iptiQ and IKEA conducted extensive testing to develop a digital customer journey which is easy to navigate and uses simple, everyday terms to ensure customers know exactly what they are covered for.HEMSÄKER, which combines the Swedish words for “home” and “secure”, is embedded in IKEA’s offering, while iptiQ provides the insurance proposition and is responsible for managing all related customer touchpoints.
The offering is tailored to the specific markets – in Switzerland customers can choose to modify their level of coverage so that they only pay for what they need. HEMSÄKER can be purchased online via the IKEA website and can be cancelled at any time with next day effect.
For iptiQ, whose business model is based on strong partnerships to provide digital insurance solutions via trusted brands and distribution partners, the launch of HEMSÄKER in collaboration with IKEA and Ikano Group is part of a journey to make insurance products simpler and accessible to more people globally.
HEMSÄKER can be purchased online by Swiss residents via insurance.ikea.ch
Post Office Insurance and Ageas enter exclusive home insurance partnership
Post Office Insurance and Ageas Insurance have agreed a new five year partnership to offer a range of home insurance products to new and existing customers. These have been designed to offer Post Office customers a choice of cover options.
Built from scratch, with customer need at the heart of the proposition, the new products offer three different levels of cover supported by a data driven, reduced question set, refreshed mobile first journeys and a clear policy wording.
Ed Dutton, Managing Director of Post Office Insurance, said:
“We have a close and enduring partnership with Ageas built up over many years and so we knew they were the people who could make insurance easy for our customers.”
“For us this isn’t just a new range of products it’s a completely different approach as we’ve now got an Ageas trained in-house team to deliver our customer sales and service.”
“This new product offering and exciting partnership offers us a significant platform to grow in one of our core verticals and we look forward to working with Ageas to build a substantial presence in this market.”
Ant Middle, Ageas’s Chief Customer Officer, said:
“Post Office Insurance is a well-known brand and we’re proud to be chosen as its trusted partner to continue to deliver its home insurance proposition. The teams on both sides have worked tremendously hard to create a fresh portfolio of products that make home insurance easy for Post Office customers.”
In addition to the core product underwritten by Ageas Insurance, Post Office is also partnering with a range of innovative businesses to support customers at all points. Premium Credit Limited will provide the premium finance offering, a new dedicated contact centre will be provided by FirstSource and refreshed ancillary products with enhanced cover levels will be underwritten and serviced by DAS UK.