InsurTech startup InsureStreet has managed to rake in £512,000 in Angel funding. The firm also attracted the support of various investors including serial entrepreneur Vin Murria, Charles Burgess, Christopher Raymond McKee, Nick Martin and Catherine Hardiman.
Based in London and led by Tahir Farooqui, founder, and CEO, InsureStreet is pioneering in an insurance platform for the property rental market to replace cash deposits and agency fees with on-demand policies. InsureStreet provides renters with a digital RentPassport™, that performs the function of validating their profile. It then offers renters an instant insurance quote to cover their deposit. Instead of paying a traditional cash deposit, renters can make a one-off payment for an insurance policy that covers them for the duration of the rental contract.
The platform has the feature of rewarding good behavior through lower policy premiums at renewal. The startup is seeking to make it easier for ‘generation rent’ to gain access to ‘affordable and alternative’ deposits.
Farooqui commented on the round, saying:
We believe change comes from within, especially in an industry that has been blighted with mistrust … Our goal is to make it easier for good tenants to find nice places to live – especially in large cities where rent is inflated beyond their means.
He also went on to address the twofold benefits, making note of the fact that landlords using the app would be able to access trusted renter profiles. Regulated by the FCA, the startup is selectively piloting with insurance partners such as HISCOX, Experian, Urban Spaces, Get Living, Quintain (Tipi), Essential Living, Atlas Residential, Walten & Allen and Fifty Thousand Homes.
Martin McBrearty, head of underwriting partnerships at HISCOX, pointed out that the startup’s launch spelled out an exciting development for the rental market.H said:
Its RentPassport™ will connect tenants with agents or landlords digitally, making the whole rental experience more trusted and flexible. We’re really pleased to be involved.
InsureStreet was also selected to join this year’s Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab.
