Insurance plays a crucial role for sharing economy platforms by providing users economic safety when they lend or rent their homes, cars, or other belongings to strangers. Platforms that offer their own insurance or make themselves compatible with insurance providers have an edge over the competition. Ensuring user assets is part of an abstract goal that P2P businesses must achieve in order to incentivize increased user participation. Thus, fostering multi-leveled trust will secure the growth of a sustainable and safe community.
In an earlier post we explored the three levels of trust every platform needs to cultivate:
- Trusting the concept
- Trusting the business
- Trusting your peers
There isn’t much to say about growing trust for a P2P business’ concept. It’s less likely that people will change their mind if they don’t like the sharing economy or the idea of peer-to-peer transactions. Resources are better spent improving the second and third levels of trust for a given platform.
The Role of Insurance
Insurance has to do with the second level of trust, trusting the business. Marketplaces owners can show they care about protecting their users’ belongings by making their services compatible with insurance providers or offering their own insurance.
Companies like Guardhog specialize in the sharing economy and provide customizable insurance for assets rented out through sharing services. Accessible and affordable insurance encourages more platform activity and contributes to the sharing economy’s growth.
With the annual increase in platform transactions, PwC predicts that the European sharing economy will reach €570 billion in transactions and €83 billion in platform revenue by 2025. As a result, the demand for insurance will increase as well.
The Trust Profile
The 3rd level of trust, trust between individuals, involves building trust between people on P2P platforms. Achieving this is a two step process. Firstly, users need to be able to show other participants information about themselves. Secondly, sharing economy marketplaces need tools for displaying this information.
In order to encourage trust, user profiles should have a quality profile picture, display qualitative information through ratings and reviews, and have a comprehensive personal bio. Moreover, an ID verification feature will also secure a person’s identity.
Deemly brings all this information together in the Trust Profile. In addition, we include user reviews from other platforms for more comprehensive insight into a user’s character and past behavior. After acknowledging this information, participants can decide whether they want to engage in a sharing transaction with a given individual or not.
Insurance and Trust Profiles Create More Activity
If you as a platform owner cover the two levels of trust that we discussed above, you will be on the right path to creating a community where your peers will feel the necessary safety to start sharing, renting and interacting. As a result, you will generate more activity and successful transactions among your users.
When all your users feel safe, they will be more likely to use your sharing service more, which will grow both your community and your platform.
This article was originally published on deemly.co
