GUELPH, ON, Nov. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - Today, duuo by co-operators™, The Co-operators new digital insurance brand, has now made its on-demand, pay-per-use insurance solution available to short-term rental hosts in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

Duuo is Canada's first and only episodic short-term rental insurance policy that has been developed specifically for hosts who rent their properties using popular platforms like Airbnb®, HomeAway®, VRBO® and others. The duuo product, which is purchased only for the nights that guests are renting a property, is intended to cover the additional risks hosts face with short term rentals or homesharing, which are typically not covered by their standard home insurance. At an average of $8 per night, the policy provides coverage for the full replacement cost of a home and its contents, plus additional protection specific to short term rentals including vandalism, infestation, liquor liability, loss of income, and more. This insurance solution fills a growing gap in the marketplace and provides greater flexibility for an expanding segment of the population who rent out their premises as participants in the sharing economy.

As the homesharing industry continues to grow, duuo is filling a need for short-term rental hosts with  a flexible, pay-per-use product that provides coverage only for when guests are renting the property. Duuo was designed to both identify and fill gaps where Canadian's needs are not being met by traditional insurance models. The new short-term rental insurance solution offered by duuo is unique in that it is a fully digital, mobile self-serve model. Customers simply input their name, email address and property address to obtain a policy, and coverage is purchased to match the term of the rental stay. With the addition of these newest provinces, duuo is now available to all Canadian short-term rental hosts except for those in Quebec where we will launch in early 2019. Full functionality in French for other Canadian provinces will be available at that time as well.

"As more Canadians participate in the sharing economy, new unmet insurance needs will continue to emerge," said Rob Wesseling, President and CEO of The Co-operators. "Our commitment to provide financial security and peace of mind while meeting the rapidly evolving needs of Canadians has driven us to innovate, and this insurance solution is a direct result of that. With duuo, we have built a collaborative platform to provide on-demand insurance solutions with a high degree of agility and flexibility."

Duuo is powered by Slice Insurance Cloud Services (ICS), providing a simple and fast application process, AI-powered claims processing, and comprehensive cyber security protection of homeshare host and insurer information. "Slice has proved that innovating with cloud insurance technology works as evidenced by significant positive homeshare host feedback across the U.S," said Tim Attia, CEO of Slice Labs. "This is a groundbreaking moment for the Canadian insurance industry and more importantly enables The Co-operators to build more meaningful relationships with Canadians by supporting new chapters of profitable entrepreneurship. We look forward to seeing what other digital insurance products The Co-operators will launch with ICS."

Slice manages all ICS technology development from their Ottawa, Canada office.
For more information on the product, visit www.duuo.ca

Co-operators:
The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian co-operative with more than $42.5 billion in assets under administration. Through its group of companies, it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. The Co-operators is listed among the Best Employers in Canada by Aon Hewitt and Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. For more information, visit www.cooperators.ca.

About Slice:
Slice Labs is a leading on-demand insurance cloud platform provider that empowers insurers to deliver new value to customers through direct insurance or insurance agent models without investing in infrastructure to provide customized on-demand, pay-as-you-go insurance products.  The Slice Insurance Cloud Services platform (ICS) is powered by machine learning and advanced big data technologies along with Ph.D. behavioral science expertise. ICS is the foundation for new digital insurance products being released globally by top insurers, and is also the base for Slice's own digital insurance products serving the new economy. Slice operates in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. To stay up to date with Slice, visit http://www.slice.is and follow @SliceLabs on Twitter.

SOURCE The Co-operators