Tobi from Laka (bike insurance powered by the community)

[Tobi_Laka]

Hi all, just came across an active thread on bike insurance in general and cover from Laka in particular. Happy to answer any questions you might have.

In a few words, Laka has introduced a brand new model for insurance, charging no more premiums upfront. Instead, we ask our customers (cyclists only) for a share of the actual cost of claims we incur from settling claims for theft, damage and loss, up to a personal cap.

You won't pay more than the personal cap (guaranteed by insurance partner Zurich) but if cyclists take good care and fewer claims happen, the Community pays much less.

Have a read what one of our customers thinks about us:
The MAMIL — The new way to insure your bike

Best, Tobi

 

[R120]

I have to say, that in two minutes of looking at your website on my desktop, which seems like a great idea, the amount of redirects, new tabs opening, and login request, sign up for newsletter request etc has put me off. It also appears optimised to work on a tablet or phone.

You need to make it less fussy to get a simple indicative quote, at which point people can decide if they want to sign up!

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Thanks for the open feedback and I second your views. We're a bootstrapping start-up (although partnering with a strong partner Zurich) and have way to go to optimise our offering. You should be able to get an initial quote on the first page of the website. Unfortunately we require some additional information to share a detailed quote, e.g. when customers have several bike.

We are aiming to to release a new website and improved policy wording (for all the feedback we received the past few weeks) shortly.

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Hey Tobi,

Really interesting concept

On average roughly how many months ‘free’ do users get? Or what is the average monthly payment percentage vs full cost?

Mine coming in at £97 a month which is pretty steep!

 

[Tobi_Laka]

Hi Rob,

the £97 is the maximum price in your case (based on the value of your gear) and we believe it's going to be a rare occasion that we are actually going to hit. On average (over a 12 months span), we're expecting to fare around half that price. We've done a lot of back testing with data got our hands on and feel there's a big gap between actual claims and premium charged.

We have monthly renewals, meaning no lock in. Give us a try - a £25 credit against the first bill(s) should help to keep payments in line