Insurtech is certainly throwing up its fair share of “firsts” for the insurance industry – but even by those standards, the latest device from a UK-based firm is rather unique.

A Newcastle tech firm claims its new app can reduce car insurance costs. Nothing new there, you might think. However, it is the way it does so that aims to capture the imagination – by claiming to be the UK’s first “reverse auction” marketplace for car insurance.

The company, honcho, says that the app allows insurers to bid for consumers’ business – they pay £1 for the right to bid and offer competitive premiums for motorists.

Sound far-fetched? Well, not if a significant investment is anything to go by. According to a report in the Newcastle Chronicle, the firm turned to CrowdCube, a crowd funding platform, last November with the aim of raising £650,000 – and now it has pocketed £850,000 from 713 investors.

“We are delighted to have raised significantly more than our target and to now be able to make progress on the next phase of the honcho project,” Gavin Sewell, CEO at honcho told Chronicle Live.

“honcho will be a great asset to the UK consumer insurance market and revolutionise the industry for drivers, in particular young motorists who face real challenges in securing a competitive deal.”

Sewell added that the concept “benefits both motorists and insurance companies” saying it helps “end the blight of spiralling insurance costs.”

But what do you think of the concept? Can it work? Is it practical? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
 

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