Summer is a great time to launch new products into the market. After only three months of idea validation and product development, we introduced a new product for our new and existing partners: the real estate warranty.
This product - unique to the German market - was extremely well received by our partners and their customers. In this blog article, I will guide you through how we did it and how market feedback was (so far)...
Why did we do it?
Real estate is often seen as the biggest investment in a person's life. Due to a combination of market and time pressure, and a lack of expertise, private investors and homeowners purchase real estate without being able to identify all defects, some of which can lead to serious damage over time. Imagine visiting a new apartment for sale in Berlin: if you don’t buy it within 3 days, it will be gone.
As a licensed risk carrier and an embedded insurance enabler, we saw the market need and hence the opportunity to close this protection gap by offering repair costs insurance for real estate buyers. This result in peace of mind that they are making a sound investment, knowing that the costs of hidden defects can be covered before they become an issue.
How did we validate it?
Besides internal thoughts around this product (Thanks Alexander Helm!), we received the first enquiry for this product last year followed by several other enquiries for a similar product - that was a clear sign to start the idea validation process.
We analysed the market from a macro perspective by taking a deeper look at the real estate market in Germany which helped us understand the feasibility of insurance.
Then, we tried to understand the customer POV by applying a quick family and friends testing followed by an expert survey in the real estate market with an additional customer survey of over 1200 households done by a professional marketing institute.
We also talked to potential partners: insurance brokers, real estate brokers, banks, insurers, and others: all were excited.
Pulling it all together – signals from the market, the customer, and the distribution – resulted in a high interest in the product and gave us the confidence for our next step: product development.
How is the feedback so far?
We introduced the real estate warranty to the market in a partnership with PlanetHome, the leading real estate service provider in Germany and Austria. It was important for us to work with a partner that shares the same commitment to innovation, speed, and high customer orientation.
We designed the product to offer the best-in-class protection, and our partners can customize the product with us to meet the needs of their customers:
- Straightforward: the premium calculation is the percentage of the purchase price of the property
- Flexible: product comes in 36 variants with low deductibles and extensive coverage with a term of up to 3 years
- Comprehensive: substantially covers the insurance gap for both old and new buildings by creating a real value added for customers
As a result, real estate buyers are more confident when buying property in case any problems arise after purchase. This strengthens the position of any real estate provider for people looking to buy or sell a home.
With increasing interest rates, a real estate warranty can also become a decisive USP for a real estate broker.
With this product, we are dedicated to making sure the dream home doesn’t turn into a nightmare.
