UK insurer cuts into gig economy with Slice partnership

Legal & General will partner with American start-up Slice Labs to offer on-demand homeshare insurance in the UK.

This will be Slice’s, which was founded in 2015 and operates across 50 US states, first venture into the UK.

The insurtech company has previously pulled off two big raises, with XL Catlin, Munich re and Horizons Ventures pumping $3.9m (£2.8m) into it in 2016. In 2017, it pulled off an even bigger raise, with XL Catlin leading an investment round that saw Slice inject a further $11.6m (£8.2m).

Now Legal & General will use Slice’s cloud service platform to provide on-demand homeshare insurance, in addition to further products that it has yet to announce.

Slice is known for its innovative insurance solutions for the gig economy, but it is possible that they will work together on “more traditional” insurance products, according to Slice chief executive Tim Attia.

The two companies will work together to develop web and mobile programs. They intend to use big data, AI and machine learning to build on the homeshare product.

Cheryl Agius, chief executive of Legal & General’s insurance division commented: “Our new partnership with Slice will allow us to use the latest technology that is fundamentally changing the way people buy insurance. Customers who share their homes such as through Airbnb want to buy insurance quickly and easily and when they need it.  This insurance proposition is part of our strategy to continue to transform insurance with data and technology led solutions that enhance customers’ experience.”

Attia added: “We’re honoured to be working with one of the UK’s largest insurance groups, as they leverage our ICS platform. The UK homeshare market is in desperate need of on-demand insurance so we’re proud to work with L&G to bring it to fruition. We view this initial project as a gateway to the development of other on-demand and more traditional insurance products”.