Pikl partners with Prestige Underwriting for specialist cover

UK: Sharing economy insurance specialist Pikl has announced a partnership with Prestige Underwriting, a specialist MGA [managing general agent] in niche and non-standard insurance solutions.

The partnership will provide Prestige Underwriting’s circa 1,300 UK broker partners with access to Pikl’s top-up insurance products, via its Covernet portal, enabling them to offer the right insurance cover for their clients who participate in the short-term rental of rooms, whole properties or parking spaces.

Pikl’s specialist products address the ‘insurance gap’ that currently exists in the market, whereby the vast majority of standard home insurance policies will not provide cover to people who let out their rooms, whole properties or parking spaces on a short-term basis. This means that they could be liable to serious financial losses resulting from theft, fire, damage or even public liability. And, in some cases, their insurer could invalidate the whole policy.

Currently, customers are expected to proactively inform both their insurer and mortgage lender if they plan to rent out their home or part of it, in order to comply with their terms, but in many cases, they are unaware of the obligation.

Pikl’s host products have been specifically designed to run alongside standard home insurance policies so that customers only pay for the cover they need for the time a room, whole property or parking space is rented out. The products that are now available to Prestige Underwriting’s broker partners, via its Covernet portal, are Property Host, Landlord-Tenant Host and Parking insurance.

Louise Birritteri, founder and CEO of Pikl, said: “We’re delighted to announce another major partnership in the UK insurance market. We believe it will enable Prestige Underwriting brokers to provide comprehensive cover for those of their clients that take part in short-term rentals in an easily accessible way, ensuring that they are insured against claims that may arise from these activities, whether they own or rent the property.

“Not enough people are aware that if you rent out a room in your house, the whole property, or even a car parking space assigned to you, you could be liable to a claim that your standard household insurance policy will not cover. That message is starting to be heard and understood as evidenced by this tie-up with Prestige Underwriting,” she added.

Alison Williams, managing director, Prestige Underwriting, said: “I’m delighted that we are working with Pikl to provide our network of broker partners with access to its innovative product suite for customers who are active in the sharing economy. At Prestige Underwriting, we are committed to continually evolving our product portfolio and this new partnership complements our non-standard home offering, adding value for our brokers and their customers.”