Insurance giant Ageas seeks to transform how Millennials protect their gadgets and other valued possessions with the launch of Back Me Up—a Tinder-inspired mobile app insurance that covers up to three items for £15 a month.
Designed with the young people in mind and developed together with a panel of Millennials, Back Me Up enables personalisation of policies.
The app allows users to insure three items they value most against accidental and malicious damage, loss and theft, with a maximum claim limit of £3,000 a month.
To insure an item, users just have to upload its photo onto the app and choose its description. They can even change items whenever they like with just a simple swipe.
Back Me Up does not bind users in an annual contract and users can opt in and out of the insurance whenever they want at no penalty cost and charges.
Regardless of whether users insure their phone or not, the app offers annual mobile phone screen replacement. If the phone is one of the insured items, users can avail of the screen repair more than once.
As part of the deal, Back Me Up offers worldwide travel cover for lost items, cancellations and medical emergencies, excluding claims due to pre-existing medical conditions.
It also offers up to £1,500 for replacement car or house keys and locks.
Another feature of Back Me Up is the bolt-ons, offering extra coverage for one more item.
This feature even offers help with landlord disputes through expert legal advice or legal indemnity of up to £50,000, and coverage for injuries and sports equipment and car breakdown.
The company took a cheeky approach to advertising by posting a number of videos – as the one below – depicting all sorts of troubles millennial might need back up (insurance) with.
Ageas hopes to tap into a huge market potential for flexible and relevant cover with Back Me Up.
According to research, 5 million of 18 to 34 years old do not own home contents cover, and 2.3 million travel overseas with no insurance. This age group consider mobile phones as their most valued possession, yet 48 percent is not insured, equating to a combined replacement cost of £3.1 billion.
Laptops and computers are the second most valued item, yet 44 percent are uninsured.
Rounding out the top three most valued items is a piece of clothing, of which 63 percent is uninsured.
“People want to protect the things they value and the lifestyle they enjoy, and Back Me Up provides flexible, relevant cover that’s designed by the very people who will use it,” commented Paul Lynes, Managing Director at Back Me Up.
“It’s an ‘all-in-one’ lifestyle product that puts people in control by letting them decide to insure what’s important to them, not the other way around.”
“There’s a huge gap in the market for an entirely new type of insurance, to meet the needs of young, independently-minded people. Until now, Millennials have had to engage with the insurance industry on its terms – but all that is now set to change,” he added.