Interview with the man changing the insurance field for on-demand economies
Insurance can be a fickle thing. You need it, obviously, but it's always a pain when you see that bill come up and you haven't needed your insurance in what feels like forever. With the growing on-demand economy, this becomes even more relevant for people like Uber drivers and AirBnB renters. One company is setting out to change how we look at insurance, however, in what is commonly referred to as insurtech - or the melding of insurance and technology.
Slice Labs is focusing on disrupting traditional insurance models for on-demand positions by giving people insurance when they need it, and only then. We had a chance to talk with Tim Attia of Slice Labs to find out more about Slice, how it got its start, and how it works. Check out the interview below!
Care to introduce yourself and your role at Slice?
My name is Tim Attia, and I am the CEO and co-founder at Slice Labs.
For those not familiar, what is Slice in just a couple of sentences?
Slice is a startup providing on-demand insurance for the on-demand economy. Think of insurance for a Slice of time. Pay for it when you need it, not when you don't.
What inspired the creation of Slice?
Three smart guys who worked in the insurance and technology space for years got fed up with the same old broken model and decided to make insurance better by building their own technology platform. Slice was founded on the principle that technology should drive the insurance transaction and insurance should be sold on a frictionless per use basis.
So I understand how Slice will work for on-demand services like Uber, but you're also planning on offering insurance for other types of on-demand economies, correct?
Correct, our goal is to offer insurance for everyone involved with the on-demand economy.
How will Slice work with services like AirBnB and VRBO?
The Slice product is purchased by the the person renting out their place. The Slice product requires the person renting their place to be registered on one of the platforms. AirBnB, VRBO, Homeaway, etc. Slice will also offer its product as an embeddable API so the platforms can incorporate it if they choose. Slice needs to offer its products independently since the properties and frequently listed on multiple platforms.
Why should renters look into using Slice for their rentals as opposed to traditional insurance options?
Traditional insurance options don't have options for the growing on-demand economy. You can buy personal insurance, which doesn't cover you when you're acting as a business (renting your home on Airbnb, driving for Uber, etc.) or you can buy commercial insurance, which is too cost prohibitive to be worth it.
They treat you as a person or as a business, but not for the constant back and forth - if you're a business one minute and a person the next. Slice provides complete coverage for dollars a day only for the time you want it, the time you're acting as a business, only for the weekend Airbnb rentals, for example.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some of our questions, anything you'd like to close with?
The only thing bigger than the on-demand economy is the risk. We're not here just because we have a great idea, we're here because there is a real need for proper protection. Unfortunately, many people working in the on-demand economy don't understand their risk nor lack of protection until it's too late. We want to change that and provide trust, safety and protection.
Technology is changing the way we do almost everything, and insurance is just the latest player to start seeing the effects. With on-demand economies growing in multiple sectors, having an insurance option that allows those people to pay for the insurance only when the need it is a great option to give great coverage, without spending any extra money.
We'd like to thank Tim for taking the time to answer some of our questions, find out more about Slice on their blog.
