According to IBC, Between October 2020 and October 2021, the rental market universe grew by about 40,000 purpose-built rental apartment units (or 1.9%). Demand kept up with supply as the number of occupied apartments grew by roughly 41,000 units (or 2%), resulting in a stable vacancy rate. This represents a significant recovery in rental demand from October 2020. At that time, supply growth had outpaced demand growth by about 26,000 units.
- Offer greater convenience. Renters should be asked to buy Insurance covering their negligence. There is little sense in landlords taking on unnecessary risk and increasing their chances of a claim causing nightmares at policy renewal. Embedded Insurance is an online program that can be configured for instant quoting, binding and certificate issuance. Including monthly payment options can also be leveraged to make the program 'stickier,' with recurring touch-points. Incorporating a monthly payment program will have higher, regular customer engagement and better retention rates.
- Add a new revenue stream. Embedded Insurance offers non-insurance people to grab a piece of the insurance pie. For example, branded referral programs are often created as partnerships between online booking companies and brokers. While insurance regulations used to be very strict about affiliate fees, those regulations have relaxed in many jurisdictions, making profit-sharing a possible point of interest for corporations that manage rental units.
- Lower your risk. According to the III, about 1,425 homeowners policies have a liability claim related to the cost of lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that the policyholder(s) cause to others. Therefore, requiring tenants to carry a Liability policy makes good financial sense. In addition, when you embed Insurance, the technology can be set up to automatically include naming the landlord and property managers as Additional Insured.
- Stay on top of who's insured. Today's insurance programs offer greater value and convenience through technology. When renters buy Insurance, brokers provide dashboards with text alerts, instant certificates and policy wordings. Renewal tracking is tedious, so using APIs to notify you when policies are renewed is a game-changer. Further, when renters miss payments and their insurance policy is cancelled. Landlords and managers can be notified the moment cancellations happen.
- Handle claims easier. What good is requiring proof of Insurance if the claims handling is a total hassle? Insurance programs that capture many users and collect lots of premiums are valuable to carriers and brokers. Make them work for their money by connecting loss notices to insurance companies via API (Application Programming Interface) for free. Lower your claims management costs by incorporating these same APIs into local web apps, so you stay current.
Today's technology can provide property owners connectivity straight into the insurance company, bypassing over-worked people who can slow things down. The best strategy is to work with a local broker you know that can leverage technology and who you can lean on when things go south. While technology can help us get information quicker, there is no substitute for an agent on your side.
If you or someone within your organization has to deal with renters insurance, seize the opportunity for your company to grow its revenue and further appeal to your customers' needs.
TAGS: EMBEDDED INSURANCE, RENTERS INSURANCE, TENANT INSURANCE PROGRAMS
