Digital renter's insurance startup Jetty unveils one-question quoting tool

Renters’ insurance startup Jetty has rolled out a new one-step quoting tool, enabling customers to receive online quotes simply by inputting their home address.

The new platform, Quick Quote, has been in production since the insurtech launched in April, according to CEO & co-founder Michael Rudoy. By entering a place of residence, Jetty can answer basic underwriting questions such as neighborhood crime rate, building age and estimate salaries to determine how much coverage to give perspective policyholders.

“Customers are sick of the old model of talking to agents or virtually transcribing information about the places they live just to get a quote,” said Rudoy. “We wanted to take as much friction away from the quoting process as possible.”

Prior to the deployment of Quick Quote, Jetty asked would-be consumers seven to 10 questions to issue a quote. The purpose being to tailor products to customers’ preferences from the get go. On its new platform, clients instead receive their quote and then add coverages for personal valuables, electronics or Airbnb home sharing to customize their policy. Jetty calls these additions “power ups.”

“In listening to our customers, they just wanted to see a number quickly,” Rudoy said, adding they now also have the choice of adding landlords to their policy. “Part of what is happening in the industry is landlord’s mandating people to buy renters’ insurance before signing a lease. So we changed our quote page to put [the option] at the top.”

Jetty also works hand in hand with landlords and property managers across the U.S, Rudoy says. The insurtech, based in New York’s Flatiron District, recently launched a product suite for property owners to help distribute their policies.

The startup has also been busy adding talent of late. Jetty recently announced the hires of Kristopher Agermark and Stephen Hazeltine as directors of product design and customer experience. Its current staff of 17 consists primarily of data engineers and two product designers supporting the MGA’s business development, insurance and customer experience teams.

On the expansion front, Jetty’s policies are now available in 29 states, including Texas and New York as of this week. The company, which began selling its products in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Georgia this spring, plans to grow its market footprint nationwide by year’s end.