Any mention of travel in the year 2020 and most will react with a raised hand to the face, inclined to withdraw further comment. The hospitality industry has essentially grinded to a halt during this year in the wake of COVID-19, forcing travelers and property owners alike to sit and ponder about the future of travel that bestows any form of normality. Operators have been forced to retreat to the drawing board and deliberate creative and resourceful strategies to cut costs and boost profits just to survive, a challenging task even in simpler times.
InsuraGuest Hospitality
Taking a closer look at the growth of insurtech (insurance + technology) and the sheer $16.5 billion dollar magnitude of capital invested in the last decade, one can conclude that the innovative technology at hand offers a multitude of opportunity for the sector. InsuraGuest Technologies Inc. (TSXV:ISGI) in particular developed a digital insurance product called Hospitality Liability Coverage, that alleviates risk from any member hotel and vacation rental’s small property or medical claims, transferring the risk and the incurred costs away from its general liability policy resulting in lower premiums paid and increase’s to profit margins. With insurance claims being a hospitality providers biggest downfall, InsuraGuest offers a usable solution for a common issue, while at the same time modernizing the delivery of insurance.
The process is simple, with the average hospitality property’s application taking as little as 6 minutes to receive all required insurance coverage. Property owners sign up for InsuraGuest, who then integrate with the property management system. Guests check in, and for as little as $4.95 per night, the InsuraGuest Hospitality Liability coverages are automatically placed on the guest’s folio and instantly activated to protect the property from claims made by the hotel guests on a primary basis. Coverages include theft, medical, accidental death and dismemberment, and property damage. If any claims are required, the online claim management is smooth and swift, and all user data is secured using state of the art protection software. The same coverage and process applies to vacation rentals, however due to the shorter-term rental and risk factor, the fee increases to $11.95 per night.
The peace of mind behind the technology offers an advantage for guests, knowing that in the event of a claim the traditional wait time for insurance can be expedited, and a verdict almost immediate. In addition, owners will enjoy added financial benefits on top of the elevated guest experience and reduced policy rates. A small margin of the nightly fee, 10% to be precise, can be added to the books for all who subscribe, creating a unique source of revenue otherwise lost to small property or medical claims. By enhancing the user experience, guests who have tested the simplicity of InsuraGuest may think twice before booking elsewhere.
InsureThePeople
InsureThePeople, another product of InsuraGuest Technologies Inc. (TSXV:ISGI), promotes the same proprietary insurtech platform to deliver on-demand, affordable insurance products to the roughly 31.7 million small businesses and the 65 million freelancers in America, all of whom require insurance to operate. By transforming the way business insurance is delivered and promoting an idea that insurance should be bought not sold, owners can expect faster quotes, improved customer service, lower costs, and flexible pricing.
With the launch of ITP’s Business Owner Policy back in October of 2020, InsureThePeople is readily available to several classes such as retail, wholesale, mercantile, office and business services. The functionality of InsureThePeople is completely customizable to meet the specific needs of over 130 different business types, ensuring that overpayment for unnecessary policy additions are eliminated. Payments terms can be adjusted to meet financial needs (annual, 10-pay and 4-pay) and for less than a cup of coffee a day, coverage can be achieved in mere minutes. Small business owners make up 99 percent of businesses in America. Combine this with the millions of freelancers and the target market for InsureThePeople presents prodigious growth opportunity.
Partnerships
It would be implausible for such a service to stay dormant for long, and just so, InsuraGuest finds themselves connecting with suitors looking to be first in line to benefit from its product. Just recently announced, Foundation Risk Partners, USI Insurance Services, Guesty, HUB International and Hostfully have all signed agent producer, vendor, and partnership agreements respectively, to distribute the InsuraGuest Hospitality Liability coverages to their clients. Remarkably, many of these partnerships have been signed in the past month alone, leaving the impression that the phones at InsuraGuest are starting to ring often as their products are increasingly discovered. Placing further emphasis on importance, all parties are extremely reputable sources of interest that offer immediate value to InsuraGuest and its shareholders.
HUB International is a leading full-service global insurance broker providing property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services. HUB International recorded $1 billion in sales last year alone and offers an outside source of roughly 135 sales personnel that offer InsuraGuest product on its behalf. Combined with its estimated 9300 hospitality customers in the U.S. this year, and ambitions to expand into Canada in 2021, the immediate impact on sales have the potential to be extensive. HUB is seemingly delighted with the partnership, with mention of InsuraGuest on its social media accounts and website.
USI Insurance is a leading U.S. insurance brokerage and consulting firm approaching $2 billion in revenues with more than 7,500 professional, nationally networked brokers. InsuraGuest CEO and Chairman Douglas Anderson states “This growth avenue will not only increase sales dramatically and provide true nationwide coverage but will increase shareholder value as a result” on its most recent news release.
Foundation Risk Partners is one of the fastest-growing insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the United States, pushing the boundaries of insurance excellence. FRP is comprised of industry leaders who redefine what clients should expect from their insurance brokers. The company has identified leading platforms and services within the commercial, personal, risk management and employee benefits space. FRP’s strength is rooted in the expertise of its selected partners, their innovative approach, and the ability to surround clients with these pooled resources. InsuraGuest CEO and Chairman Douglas Anderson states, “InsuraGuest continues to expand its brand and sales footprint with Foundation Risk Partners, who’s team can now offer the InsuraGuest Hospitality Liability coverages to its hotel clients and protect those properties from claims made by guests and their occupants on a primary basis” from a December 2020 news release.
Guesty’s property management platform provides property managers and management companies with an end-to-end solution to simplify and automate the complex operational needs of short-term rentals. Through the vendor agreement, InsuraGuest will integrate with Guesty property management software which will enable Guesty’s tens of thousands of users to transfer certain liability exposures to the InsuraGuest carrier and take advantage of the cost saving benefits.
Hostfully is a complete, end-to-end property management platform that helps vacation rental property managers increase bookings and boost revenues. InsuraGuest CEO and Chairman Douglas Anderson states “We are excited to have the opportunity to enter the vacation rental sector through the Hostfully property management system. The vacation rental market, including Airbnb and Vrbo, is a $100 billion market in the US and growing, and we are honored to have the opportunity to work with such a seasoned team as Hostfully and their President and Co-Founder David Jacoby to help us enter this marketplace” from a September 2019 news release.
Revenue
Modest calculations reveal that revenues generated for InsuraGuest Hospitality can be estimated around the $10K to $16K CAD per month, per hotel, based on an average 100 room hotel ranging from 50-80% occupancy at $4.95 per night. Vacation rental revenue can be estimated to around the $2.9K to $4.6K CAD per month, per rental, based on 50-80% occupancy at $11.95 per night. InsureThePeople revenue can be estimated at a minimum premium of $27 CAD per month, per company. Combined, these numbers are quite impressive when considering the growing network of available clients offered by recent partnerships, as well as the exponential opportunity for growth within the sector.
- The retail value of the global hotel industry was $600 billion USD in 2018, of which $218 billion USD was collected in the United States at an average occupancy rate of 66.2%.
- According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), there are 54,200+ hotel properties in the United States, filling over 5 million guestrooms. There are more than 1.1 billion guests’ nights annually.
- There are approximately 600,000 Airbnb and 500,000 Vrbo listings in the United States alone. On any given night across the world, 2 million people are guests in an Airbnb.
- There are roughly 31.7 million small businesses and 65 million freelancers in the United States.
Forward
In speaking with the company, the ambition is to expand its services and spread to international markets. No timeline can be announced to date, however the future opportunities for the self-owned insurance platform are seemingly endless. Looking into the markets, similar establishments such as Lemonade Inc. (NYSE:LMND), Root Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT), and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (TSE:FFH) have achieved market caps in excess of billions of dollars, and given the current valuation of InsuraGuest, speculations can be made that this revolutionary insurtech company will begin to break barriers and continue its march towards its rightful place as a leader in the insurtech industry.
With a positive outlook on the availability of a COVID-19 vaccination looming in the horizon, sightseer’s will surely be rushing out the door to reunite with friends and family, and InsuraGuest will be well positioned to capitalize on its efforts for aiding in the endurance of the sector.
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