Urban Jungle

Challenge

Whilst some families have savings, few have enough to deal with a financial shock such as losing all their possessions in a fire or flood. Insurance can provide a critical safety net and plays an important role in financial inclusion, however, existing insurance providers unfairly exclude large segments of society.

Insurers typically assess risk based on demographics rather than assessing individuals themselves. This has led to an industry that under-serves people who need insurance the most. In the lowest 10% household income bracket, only 43% have contents insurance compared to 92% in the top 10%, and some of the most vulnerable people are paying the highest premiums.

Approach

Urban Jungle is initially focussed on renters’ contents insurance, where people are most underserved.

They use behavioural data to assess individuals’ risk on factors that they can control rather than demographics. This helps them design products that are more transparent, fairer and more effective at serving their customers so that people only pay for the insurance they need.

The customer journey for applications is straightforward, with fewer questions than the typical process and provides customers with a quote for a monthly policy, no cancellation fees, and pricing starting at £5 per month.

Revenue model

Urban Jungle sells insurance products direct to consumer and is currently tailored to renters.

Impact

Urban Jungle now has 20,000 customers and over 1,000 five-star Trustpilot reviews.

They are actively seeking to increase participation in insurance amongst groups who have not been insured before. Up to 50% of their customers buy insurance for the first time.