How did you get your idea/concept?

I was one of the under-served customers who needed on-demand insurance for my Airbnb letting, and while searching for a suitable product I realised that millions of people are having the same problem. I decided to create Tapoly “Insurance On demand” to address this issue.

What problem are you solving?

The problem we have today is that traditional insurers only offer products for either private individuals or businesses, but most participants in the sharing and gig economy are individuals undertaking occasional commercial activity, so they do not fall neatly into the insurers’ categories and find it difficult to get suitable cover. Many people in this situation simply choose to go uninsured.

Who is your target customers?

Our customers are typically individual freelancers and contractors who need on-demand insurance for their job, as well as small businesses who need insurance to cover the risks associated with running their daily operations.

Who is your solution?

Tapoly offers a full stack of on-demand insurance for freelancers, contractors and SMEs. Our fully automated platform and simple customer interface allows new customers to get insurance cover within two minutes and existing customers within seconds. We offer flexible and bespoke insurance products that match the risks and the need of our consumer.

How do you distinguish yourself from competitors?

Tapoly is an MGA (Managing General Agent). Unlike a traditional broker, MGAs have the ability to underwrite as well as sell insurance products. We believe we are the first on-demand insurance platform that offers a full stack of commercial insurance for freelancers, contractors and businesses.

On-demand insurance is still in its infancy, and most of the start-ups in this space are targeting the headline issues of property rental or car sharing, or are focusing on developing platforms rather than acquiring customers. Tapoly is almost unique for offering work-related insurance.

Why would the consumer care about Tapoly?

As much as 75% of seven million freelancers in the UK do not have any form of insurance to cover their work-related risks, because most of them find traditional insurance cumbersome or unsuitable for their needs. Over the next few years, there will be as many as 1.4bn freelancers on this planet who need insurance on demand.

We see Tapoly as an essential part of the growth of the sharing economy and the gig economy, we want to solve world-wide issues of people not being insured due to lack of availability of suitable and flexible insurance products. We recognise the importance of the sharing economy as it solves economic, social and environmental issues which most countries are currently facing, whether those are lack of housing, traffic congestion or simply making enough money to support one’s family.

We understand our responsibility to make the sharing and gig economy safer for everyone who takes part. However, we cannot do this alone. We need the support of our community worldwide to get our products to the market and to consumers at large.