Liberty Mutual has built a new set of innovative technical capabilities that allows the integration of the quoting and binding of rental insurance into property manager’s ecosystems.
During a recent interview, Kelly Piotrowski, Director, Ecosystem Partnerships for Liberty Mutual, said, “We say ‘ecosystem’ because it could be a website, it could be a mobile application, it could be the portal that someone uses to apply for an apartment and pay their rent.”
The Insurance Information Institute says only 37 percent of renters buy insurance leaving 63 percent uninsured, and “that’s pretty scary when you think about it because even just to replace an iPhone, a laptop, or your clothes, can be a pretty significant life event for a person,” Piotrowski said.
Liberty Mutual built the new renters API (application program interface) because “we wanted to build a set of capabilities that would allow us to partner with people to make it easier for those who should have renter’s insurance to get it,” she said.
“These capabilities are not partner specific and can easily integrate into a variety of partner experiences. Partners work directly with the Liberty Mutual partner technology team and not a third party.”
“While the API is an easy digital solution, functioning on both mobile and desktop, the quote-and-bind offer is integrated into your digital experience, with no need for individuals to be rerouted to LibertyMutual.com or call an agent.
Piotrowski said they are seeking partnerships with other companies with a larger base of users, such as the one they already have with Rom8.io, which helps people find roommates. The goal is to engage renters while they are online using digital products and signing up for their housing.
“So we’re meeting people where they are and we’re making it easier and trying to reduce as many barriers as possible so that people will finally get the coverage that they need,” Piotrowski said.
Although selecting housing may be top of mind at the moment, “We can say, ‘You know what? You should really have renter’s insurance while you’re here. Why don’t you take a look at this?’ And then the person can actually engage with the renter’s-insurance product without ever having to leave,” she said.
She explained that if a property-management company had a website and used the API renters could actually buy the insurance through that API on the partner’s site, and it could proactively list the property management as the insured and potentially then send a proof of insurance.
A simplified rental insurance-buying experience
The technology and the product itself is the same full-coverage rental insurance someone would get from going to LibertyMutual.com or calling the company.
“It’s the same product, but it’s definitely a simplified product from a purchasing standpoint,” Piotrowski said, so it does not require as much information as other insurance products. She said partners in the program will most likely already have much of the data needed to apply for renters insurance with the company.
Property management typically already has the information that Liberty Mutual needs.
“Things like name, address, and data for email address, how long have you been living in this apartment? It is straightforward information, but it’s also things that our partners are likely to already have from their customers. So then you have the opportunity to further simplify the process by pre-filling it as well to expedite the process it takes for someone to then actually complete the quoting and binding,” Piotrowski said.
About the program:
Liberty Mutual Insurance has created a Renters Insurance API that will allow your customers or tenants to quote and buy renters insurance without ever leaving your digital experience. To learn more about the program, visit libertymutual.com/renters-api or contact API.Partnerships@libertymutual.com.
