Clearsurance launches first, independent, crowdsourced review and rating platform for insurance companies
Clearsurance today announced the launch of its first-to-market, crowdsourced insurance industry review and rating platform. In an industry traditionally lacking transparency, Clearsurance provides a new, independent, trusted and comprehensive metric to help consumers make more informed and insightful insurance decisions.
“No one wants to spend time thinking about their insurance policies, but everyone wants to have confidence in their choices,” said Michael Crowe, Co-Founder and CEO. “Clearsurance can help insurance shoppers the same way Yelp and TripAdvisor advise restaurant and travel consumers: improve the overall customer experience through better transparency and crowdsourced insights and ratings.”
As more consumers purchase directly from insurance companies, bypassing traditional brokers and agents, there is a clear need for a trusted, independent source for consumers to share their insurance experiences, learn from others, and compare options. Clearsurance also invites the over 2,500 licensed insurance companies into the experience, offering them a direct channel for communication to answer consumers’ policy questions, address issues, and provide relevant information.
Clearsurance received a $2 million seed round of funding in August 2016 and has been in beta testing since that time. Launching with nearly 10,000 reviews of more than 210 insurance companies, Clearsurance will initially focus on personal lines of insurance, including homeowner, renter, and auto insurance. In the near future, Clearsurance plans to add Medicare supplemental and employee benefits reviews and rankings. Clearsurance has also begun collecting reviews of insurance agencies and brokers to publish in its next release in early 2017.
Co-founders Crowe and Todd Kozikowski, both accomplished start-up veterans in the insurance and technology markets, identified the need for a clear measure in the insurance industry after each had unpleasant personal experiences with insurance carriers and wondered why, unlike their other financial assets, there was no standard rating system for the insurance industry that could act as a transparent metric for consumers, agencies and carriers.
“There is clearly no dynamic, industry standard for comprehensively rating an insurance company, and everyone should know their insurance providers’ reputations for honoring their policies and processing claims,” said Kozikowski, Co-Founder and President. “Consumers should not purchase insurance based solely on price or casual referrals. Clearsurance can bring greater clarity to consumers so that they make informed, knowledgeable decisions about one of their most critical purchases in life.”
In addition to its crowdsourced reviews and polling data, which will contribute 60% towards an insurance provider’s rating, Clearsurance has also partnered with the Better Business Bureau, A.M. Best and Demotech to include other independent sources of reviews and data in its algorithm. The third party sources of data will contribute 40% in the initial Clearsurance algorithm. Company ratings will be constantly updated as new sources of data are added.
In its own effort towards transparency, Clearsurance intends to disclose and publish its own formula underlying the ratings so that consumers and insurance companies can easily understand the process and avoid any mystery or manipulation.
“Insurance companies are excellent at measuring your risk, bringing together all kinds of data points about you before offering coverage. Now, we’re turning that concept around, and helping consumers measure the risks of insurance companies. There’s a new question to ask before buying insurance – how does it rate with Clearsurance?” added Crowe.
About Clearsurance
Clearsurance is on a mission to bring new transparency, insights, and metrics to the insurance industry. Based In Newburyport, MA, the company provides the most comprehensive, independent, and trustworthy rating system for insurance companies, helping consumers make better, more informed insurance purchasing decisions. For more information, visit www.clearsurance.com.
