Startup offers Millennials pay-as-you-go insurance

David Banks
Authored by David Banks
Posted Wednesday, May 22, 2019 - 9:25am

Dead Happy, a technically-complex insurance company catering to the millennial market, is generating a buzz by offering customers pay-as-you-go insurance plans that differ from traditional coverage options traditionally relied upon by young people. The company is hoping that its flexible insurance offering allows more people to enjoy cheap coverage, though its humorous name and skull logo are perplexing some who are looking for a traditional insurance company.

With premiums being calculated yearly and coverage being fixed to 10 years, Dead Happy’s insurance offerings are unlike anything most people have seen when it comes to buying coverage. The company isn’t only relying on non-traditional coverage plans, either, but a cultural campaign of reaching out directly to consumers in new ways that are unfamiliar to the insurance industry.

On Dead Happy’s company website, for instance, their information section includes a page entitled “is this a joke?” in a direct reference to how many confused queries they get from the public. The casual rhetoric, skull logo that summons to mind images of death, and invitation to customers to “make a deathwish” have all helped Dead Happy make a name for itself in a crowded insurance market.

“Death is something people avoid talking about, thinking about or planning for at all costs,” the company’s website argues as it explains its non-traditional approach to insurance. “We think it’s bizarre that most life insurance companies will sell you a policy without ever mentioning the ‘D-WORD’. Death is a human inevitability, and we think it’s much healthier to talk about it and plan for it than never to even think about it.”

Data from Life Insurance International indicates that the company’s savvy marketing efforts aimed directly at consumers could be generating results, as insurance companies have traditionally struggled to get millennials to think seriously about death and insurance coverage. LII’s2018 UK Insurance Consumer Survey found that only 16.8% of 18-25 year-olds had a personal life insurance policy, for instance. Dead Happy’s special pricing means that younger users will be paying lower rates thanks to the vitality of youth.

The vast majority of life insurance policies aren’t sold directly to consumers, but rather by insurance brokers, including people with disabilities, which Dead Happy’s direct marketing will be challenging. The company’s quirky branding will be supplemented by offers to “make a deathwish,” or the ability to fill out scenarios you would like enacted after you die. This option allows users to name their deathwish, specify how much money they hope to pay, and who the recipients may be. One option even allows customers to send their family on a vacation after their death, illustrating Dead Happy’s non-traditional marketing methods aimed at younger, more carefree spenders.

To date, Dead Happy has already accrued over 1,000,000 deathwishes, per its website. The company is partnered with Covea Insurance and Gen Re, life insurance and reinsurance companies, and Octopus Ventures, a venture capital team from Europe. According to its website, the company is primarily spearheaded by six professionals from the financial and insurance industries. 

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