The Swedish insurtech company Omocom and risk carrier W. R Berkley Insurance AG have developed and launched an insurance solution to increase security and to lower the threshold for purchasing used electronics. The insurance is sold through Sweden's leading peer-to-peer marketplace for second-hand goods, Blocket.
The insurance protects buyers who have identified hidden faults on their recently purchased product. The purpose is to make sure that the product functions as expected. Examples of hidden faults that are covered by the insurance can be a camera that stops working or a phone which does not charge properly. It provides compensation for repairs and spare parts up to a maximum of SEK 10,000.
“The product that we've created together with Blocket is both incredibly exciting and also pretty unique. We simply wanted to erase all the major concerns of buying second-hand and the risk of products not functioning as expected. We're very happy that our insurance partner and risk carrier W.R Berkley was willing to deep dive into a completely new and uncharted territory together with us. They call this "the future of risk" and we totally agree! " says Sara Forsberg, CCO at Omocom.
The purchase of the insurance is made smoothly by clicking on the Omocom offer displayed next to each and every product within the Electronics category on Blocket. The consumer can choose between three different insurance packages with different price levels based on insured value. The payment of the premium is made seamlessly through Omocom's partner Trustly and a personal insurance letter is automatically sent to the buyer's specified e-mail.
Initially, the insurance was launched in Blocket's electronics categories, but the plan is to expand the product broadly across most of the categories that Blocket provide, insuring everything from toys to clothes.
“We view the collaboration with Omocom and Blocket very positively. It is very exciting to be a part of the creation of new insurance products for new purposes. The circular economy will be an important part of the future and we are proud to be part of this development" says Carl-Johan Nilsson, CEO of Berkley Nordic Region.
Founded in -96, Blocket.se is currently Sweden's largest online marketplace for buying and selling second-hand products and says the following in its press commentary regarding the collaboration with Omocom:
“There was a big gap in the market that we're now closing with Omocom. We started by launching the product in the mobile category and after a positive receiving, we've now launched it to the entire electronics category. We want it to be safe to shop second-hand and hope this can make customers feel even more protected when buying used electronics” says Annette Karlberg, Marketplace Director for Buy & Sell at Blocket.
