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- Rental-focused insurtech Jetty said on Thursday that it has launched a pet deposit product, Jetty Pet, across all of its markets.
- Jetty is part of a growing class of insurtech startups that raised $2.22 billion in 2017 and $4.15 billion in 2018, with gains set to continue in 2019.
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Rental-focused insurtech Jetty announced this Thursday that it has launched a pet deposit product, Jetty Pet, across all of its markets.
Jetty is part of a growing class of insurtech startups that raised $2.22 billion in 2017 and $4.15 billion in 2018, with gains set to continue in 2019. Jetty's focus is primarily on renters, which distinguishes it from other insurtech companies, though some, like LeaseLock, have similar products.
The company was founded in 2015, and has raised $42.5 million to date from venture funds like Khosla Ventures and fintech fund Ribbit Capital. The New York-based company offers insurance products for renters, from traditional renter insurance to products that replace traditional lease guarantors and security deposits.
Jetty Pet is offered to tenants when they're signing a lease with a property manager that partners with Jetty. The service costs 17.5 percent of the total cost of the deposit or fee, or $87.50 for a $500 deposit. Customers are on the hook for any damages.
This is more costly than a technically refunable deposit, but requires less upfront cost for the tenant, mirroring the logic behind Jetty's security deposit product.
When compared to a personal loan, which can have rates as low as 4% APR for customers with high FICO scores, Jetty Pet may be more expensive, but it doesn't have the possibility of harming a customer's credit. It is also integrated into the rental process and doesn't require another application to the loan.
"With a cost of $500, that's not so high that someone would go out and get a loan to cover it," Mike Rudoy, chief executive and cofounder of Jetty, told Business Insider. "Someone would just go out and rent another apartment."
The upfront costs of moving can be prohibitive, as 40% of American's can't fund a $400 emergency expenses without borrowing. Jetty's products have been focused on the move-in process so far, but Rudoy said that the company has mapped out all of the "financial hurdles" in the renting process, and plans to offer more products.