Pineapple is an insurance technology company that sells insurance for things like cars, TVs, and musical instruments. The main office of this company is in Johannesburg, South Africa.
It’s also the Head of Operations for a small insurance company whose app will cover your personal belongings. Basic pricing and information about long-term care and life insurance products are easier for clients to get, and the company’s network makes it possible for the insurer to get the unused premium and gives secure information about how the money is spent.
Pineapple suggests that the traditional insurance model, customer service, and products have flaws, so it has tried to fix them by:
- Changing the business model to better align incentives, make it clear how much is being spent on premiums, and give back any extra money to members.
- Making it possible to finish the insurance process in less than a minute with just a photo.
- Allowing item insurance and new product development to fill coverage gaps that many people can’t get at the moment.
Pineapple was made to solve some of the biggest problems in the insurance industry, like the fact that many people are skeptical of the short-term insurance market because of bias, lack of transparency, and a drop in customer loyalty.
As a result, fraud goes up and customers get less value out of their insurance because costs and profit margins are so high.
Pineapple doesn’t need to get a license to sell insurance. They need to work with a local carrier in each new area they move into. They are the system’s underwriter and reinsurer.
How it Works
Car Insurance
Pineapple has your back in case of accidents, theft, hijacking, water damage, lightning strikes, and explosions.
In case of an accident, they offer free help any day, anytime. Included are the costs of gas, new tires, a key and remote, help to find a place to stay temporarily, and trauma treatment.
Per item Insurance
If you’re only looking for a price on one thing, Pineapple users should log in and then click the “+” button. Have a picture ready of the valuables you want to cover under insurance. Simply enter your information to get an accurate price in under a minute.
Here’s what you need to do to file a claim using the mobile app: Choose the pen and paper icon on the bottom right of your screen. To file a claim, tap the broken heart symbol and then follow the on-screen instructions.
Smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, wearables, drones, bicycles, televisions, video game consoles, audio equipment, cameras, jewelry, watches, headphones, eyewear, purses, sports gear, and instruments are just some of the things that may be covered.
Additionally, Pineapple doesn’t make money from underwriting margins, and therefore they can judge claims fairly and objectively.
Your Pineapple account is where all of your premium payments go, and the wallet is used for the following things:
Pay for claims of other Pineapple members.
All of the money from their members is put together to pay for any claims that are verified by their third-party evaluators. If you don’t want to pay for someone else’s network, you can make your own by connecting with other people.
Buy reinsurance and pay admin fees.
Pineapple adds an administrative fee at the end of each month. This cost pays for:
Reinsurance on wallets
A portion of your payment goes toward reinsurance, which makes sure that claims will be paid even if the community doesn’t have enough money to cover them.
Administration Fee
Making sure a business runs smoothly is a hard thing to do. Therefore, your premiums pay for everything from the management of your insurance and claims to the upkeep of the software in your wallet and the transaction fees that go along with it.
Founders
Matthew Elan Smith
Pineapple was co-founded by Matthew Elan Smith.
He went to school at the University of Witwatersrand.
Ndabenhle Junior Ngulube
Pineapple was co-founded by Ndabenhle Junior Ngulube.
Marnus van Heerden
Pineapple’s co-founder is Marnus van Heerden.
Investors & Funding Rounds
VentureClash
In the annual US VentureClash competition, Pineapple won $1.5 million out of the total $5 million prize pool.
The company is a finalist in the VentureClash competition, has received funding, and has taken part in Google’s Launchpad Africa accelerator and the Hartford Insurtech Hub in the United States.
At the end of the competition, eleven companies presented their ideas in hopes of winning a piece of $1.5 million. Pineapple was named the winner.
The startup has won the US$25,000 VentureClash Innovation Prize before. This prize is given to VentureClash contestants with insurtech solutions or market potential.
Main Competitors
Flock Ltd.: It is based in London and it is an insurance tech startup that wants to be the first truly digital insurer of networked commercial vehicles.
Ladder: This is a digital life insurance company that can be set up in minutes and offers variable term coverage for up to 40% off.
Simplesurance: It has made a platform that is easy to use to bridge the gap between traditional insurance and the online market.
Related:
Redavia: Story, Founders, Investors & Funding Rounds