Lemonade, the homeowners and renters insurance company “powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics,” is now available throughout California, the company announced on Wednesday.
California marks the third state in Lemonade’s nationwide expansion plan, and puts the company on track to reach the majority of the U.S. population in a matter of months.
“Most Americans view insurance as a necessary evil, rather than a social good. That’s something Lemonade is determined to change,” said Shai Wininger, president and cofounder, Lemonade. “Expanding to California is a key milestone on Lemonade’s journey. The tech capital of the world deserves insurance powered by AI, and the people of California deserve to see insurance underwriting profits funding their nonprofits.”
In addition to digitizing the entire insurance process, Lemonade says it reduces costs and bureaucracy through giving. In a reversal of the traditional insurance model, Lemonade takes a flat 20% fee and treats premiums as belonging to the insured, not the insurer, returning unclaimed money during its annual ‘Giveback.’ Giveback is a unique feature of Lemonade, where each year leftover money (“underwriting profit”) is donated to a cause customers care about.
“The amazing tech and social impact of Lemonade was the reason we joined the company as investors,” said Ashton Kutcher, co-founder of Sound Ventures. “I think Californians will find Lemonade’s unique combination of value, values and simplicity hard to resist. I know I did.”
Giveback funds nonprofits, but benefits everyone, the company says. Fraud consumes as much as 38% of all the money in the traditional insurance system, inflating premiums and making the claims process protracted and unpleasant. Lemonade says while the industry shrugs this off as a cost of doing business, behavioral scientists have mapped the underlying drivers, providing the company with a blueprint for building “a new kind of insurance carrier.” Giveback is a part of the solution, and the program derives from studies by Lemonade’s Chief Behavioral Officer, Professor Dan Ariely, and earned Lemonade a B-Corp certification.
Residents of California, New York, and Illinois can now buy a new policy or painlessly switch from an existing one in no time and with no paperwork at www.lemonade.com or through the Lemonade app.
About Lemonade: Lemonade Insurance Company is a licensed insurance carrier, offering homeowners and renters insurance powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics. By replacing brokers and bureaucracy with bots and machine learning, Lemonade aims for zero paperwork and instant everything. And as a Certified B-Corp, where underwriting profits go to nonprofits, Lemonade is remaking insurance as a social good, rather than a necessary evil.Stay in touch at www.lemonade.com, @lemonade_inc or www.facebook.com/lemonade.
