About: A Canadian insurer Duuo has collaborated with a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace ‘Traveling Munchkin’ to roll out Canada’s first cloud-based equipment rental insurance platform ‘Rent-my-Stuff Insurance’. The platform offers protection against damages and losses of rented equipment. Duuo has developed the insurance platform in partnership with Slice Labs, an on-demand digital insurance ecosystem provider. The platform aims to evade the risk and fear of renting valuable gears to unknown users.

Process: Duuo leverages Slice Insurance Cloud Services (ICS) ecosystem to enhance the reach of affordable insurance to the public without hassle and fear. The P2P platform connects the renter and equipment provider through a quick online transaction to complete the deal. Once the deal is closed, the renter receives the equipment and the provider receives an ample amount of money. Furthermore, the company has added security and credibility to rented products by offering a guarantee for loss, theft or damage by removing a dependency on the renter to secure insurance.

What's Next: The fear of equipment damage and security are the challenges facing by the gear renters. Rent-my-Stuff Insurance helps in eliminating the bottlenecks by providing insurance to each item as well as encouraging renters to monetize underused possessions to earn supplementary income. Duuo has plans to advance its service by partnering with other rental providers to grow and engage with customers across Canada.

About: Pineapple has developed a peer-to-peer (P2P) insurance product whereby individuals can take pictures of items they wish to avail insurance and the app automatically identifies the items using artificial intelligence. Premiums are then held in wallets which collectively pay claims made by individuals in the community. Any remaining funds are returned to policyholders at the end of the policy.

Process: Pineapple is seen as South Africa’s first P2P insurance provider. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically detect which item is being insured from a photograph gives Pineapple a clear advantage by cutting down on the number of questions required to provide a quote. The most original element of Pineapple’s proposition is that policyholder premiums are returned to them once claims and an administrative fee have been paid. The concept of returning premiums to policyholders will undoubtedly prove a hit with consumers and in principle should help reduce fraudulent claims. Allowing policyholders to build their own network of peers will also help ensure the longevity of Pineapple, as policyholders have an incentive to minimise risk within their network.

What's Next: The use of AI has streamlined the quotes process for consumers. Combining this with the clarity, Pineapple provides policyholders on how their premiums are used and the potential to receive some of their premiums back will significantly improve the user experience. Being at the forefront of the P2P insurance market in South Africa will allow Pineapple to play a fundamental role in shaping how the industry develops, and to set a precedent for other providers that wish to enter the market.

About: Dynamis has introduced smart contracts based peer-to-peer unemployment insurance product that runs on Ethereum blockchain network. The startup is using P2P insurance platform powered by blockchain technology to create a decentralized network for brining transparency to the insurer-insured relationship. The product provides distrusted ledger technology, where the authority to validate transactions is dispersed evenly across the network.

Process: Dynamis has launched its first product, community-based unemployment insurance that leverages user data from social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to verify employment status of the insured. Moreover, it relays on insured individual’s peers and colleagues to automate claims using blockchain-powered smart contracts. Clients registered with Dynamis offer unemployment insurance to their employees by paying premiums in form of bitcoins and the transactions are recorded as smart contracts. At the time of redundancies and layoffs, employees receive payouts from peers without the need for any insurance company.

What's Next: Using Blockchain, Dynamis palms create a decentralized network of peer-to-peer insurance platform, where severance funds are actually paid to employees during layoffs. Albeit, P2P insurance based on blockchain is in its nascent phase, increased number of startups are foraying into the niche space and using technology to streamline identity authentication, claims management, and fraud management.