The homeowners and contents policy provider will be expanding into an all new market.
Lemonade pet insurance is about to become the next offering from the industry disrupting homeowners and contents insurer.
The company has managed to raise $480 million and is now set to cover cats and dogs.
It is not yet clear when the Lemonade pet insurance policies will start selling. So far, the insurer has announced its intentions to step into that category. It is also making its way through the regulatory process of selling coverage for dog and cat health. It is that process that officially announced the company’s plans as they are a matter of public record. Once the process is complete, those public records will also reveal additional details such as dates.
The animal health coverage cannot be sold until that regulatory process is completed. According to the company’s founder and C.E.O. Daniel Schreiber, that process could take “months.” Once that is done, the specifics of the types of policies will also be revealed. At the moment, there is very little shared about the coverage product and the prices they intend to charge for that coverage. That said, in all likelihood, the policies are likely to be restricted to coverage for dogs and cats.
Lemonade pet insurance will be entering a sector in with great potential but in which few owners participate.
At the moment, it is estimated that only a sliver of the total number of animal owners in the United States who have coverage available to them have chosen to purchase it. Estimates range between 1 percent and 2 percent of insurable animals. That said, it’s interesting to note that about 70 percent of the insurer’s homeowners or renters’ insurance policyholders also own pets, said Schreiber.
This makes it clear that there is potential for the insurer to reach its own customers and expand on the type of coverage offered to them. According to Schreiber, dog ownership was among several indicators the insurer has for calculating premiums quotes. The reason is that dogs can occasionally play a risk-assessment role for a home. For instance, a dog may be a burglar deterrent. Moreover, the vast majority – 90 percent – of the insurer’s policyholders are purchasing coverage for the first time.
When taking those figures into consideration, adding Lemonade pet insurance can make a lot of sense. The company can target a substantial segment of its existing and growing customer base with an entirely new product that is relevant to them.