This is a super (see what I did there) interesting product. I have owned many a home, and have never been satisfied by the home warranty companies. That said, they've typically come with purchase (seller purchases one for the buyer), and I have made claims against them.
One of the things I like about them (perhaps the only?) is that most will offer to just cut you a check instead of having to use them to actually fix the service. Meaning, I had a broken A/C unit. Unfortunately I had to call the home warranty company 3 different times, because after putting duct-tape on it twice they finally realized it was a gonner. But instead of having to wait a week and a half for them to provide the lowest quality replacement, they cut me a check which I put towards something better.
Perhaps some detail on those types of issues would be helpful... do you replace like for like. Is getting a service-person out there a complete hassle? How do you vet the service people? Are they likely to try and continually fix something that is likely past its useful life, or past the typical point where one would decide the benefit of new, maintenance free is nicer than having to continually have folks out to keep fixing?
The coverages are also a bit confusing. Though less-so than a 50 page home warranty terms contract. But it isn't 100% obvious to me. So are the things on the "maintenance schedule" page basically not covered? You note: "We regularly send you information on how to maintain your home to prevent disruptive or dangerous problems from happening. We make it easy to understand how to do it yourself or ask us to do it for you for an additional fee.". So these maintenance items aren't covered... but you potentially make it easier by going through Super to get it fixed? And there's some kind of point or reward system? Things like gutter cleaning, dry vent exhaust cleaning, chimney sweep, etc. are definitely some of those pesky little maintenance items that are in many ways more of a headache then the "big break" type things. On the quarterly service reward, do those accumulate, or is it use-it or lose-it?
I understand why you're doing the co-pay plans... but would just note, including co-pays in the plans makes it feel a lot more old-school, confusing, insurance. As a consumer, now I'm trying to do math in my head. And worse, when my wife is calling for repairs, but isn't clear what plan we're on, whether there is a co-pay or not, etc. it just seems like a hassle. You start thinking "I'm paying $x per month, and then another $y per co-pay, and have had this many breaks... is this really a better way, or am I paying more??"
With a big family, this is the type of service we'd love... i wouldn't even mind the premium plan, if some of those maintenance things were included... I recognize there's a quarterly reward.. but it's hard to understand how much service that will get you... it's not easy to say "I have a $100 reward this quarter, I'm going to use exactly that $100" ... I'd rather have 1 free maintenance procedure per quarter.
Sorry for all the stream of consciousness questions and comments!
@jeremyz123 Jeremy, LOTS of questions. Love it. Let me summarize and answer your questions:
Q: Do we replace like-for-like and/or cut checks?
A: Yes!
Q: Is getting a service-person a complete hassle?
A: NO! We want to make this as easy as possible for you. You can contact us via desktop, tablet, or mobile. You can email, text, or call. Whatever you’d like!
Q: How do you vet the service people?
A: See response to @corleyh above!
Q: Are you likely to try and continually fix something?
A: No, we won’t beat a dead horse. :) We’re working to re-imagine the service experience. It’s expensive to roll a truck, and it’s annoying for a homeowner to have more visits. So obviously, you and I both want to avoid that. BTW, when you get a higher quality service provider, they have better metrics when it comes to the number of visits and the total time to get something fixed.
Q: So are the things on the "maintenance schedule" page basically not covered? Do you make it easier by going through Super? Is there some kind of point or reward system?
A: Maintenance items are not “covered”, but all product levels come with “service rewards”. Service rewards are money you can spend on any home service coordinated by our concierge, but we’d LOVE to see you apply it towards maintenance. We will be launching programs that give you even more service rewards. On a first version of the product, it’s tough to know who needs which maintenance components. But since everyone has breakdowns, we cover breakdowns for everyone.
Q: On the quarterly service reward, do those accumulate, or is it use-it or lose-it?
A: The quarterly service rewards are use-it-or-lose it. As we launch additional service reward programs, we may extend service rewards.
Q: What’s up with co-pays?
A: Yeah, I hate the old-school sounding stuff too, but we wanted to use a term that people instantly understood. As for why we did it, different people have different preferences. Hate co-pays? Our premium home subscription comes with a $0 co-pay. Want a lower monthly subscription? Go with a co-pay. Up to you!
Q: Service rewards vs a free maintenance procedure.
A: I hear you. On a first version of the product, it’s tough to know who needs what. I need gutter cleaning right now, but I wouldn’t as much if I had a gutter guard. But stay tuned! There will be more and more of what you’re asking for as we progress!
Thanks!!
Do you see any aspect of this service being geared towards rental property owners? Not large commercial landlords, but those who have 1-2 investment units/properties.
@paul_hq I’m glad you asked. This is a great product for a primary residence or a rented out secondary residence.
When you have a renter at a secondary residence, you have a predictable monthly mortgage and predictable monthly income, but the maintenance and repair costs are unpredictable. By flattening those costs, we make life easier for landlords, AND the renter gets a great service experience.
It’s great for a full-time rental property, and it’s also great if you’re a host on Airbnb!
@joreyramer I have to admit, upon first glance I was super skeptical. I've been a homeowner for a long-time now - so I've figured all of these things out. Then I took a step back and thought...wait, I would have loved this when I was a first-time homeowner.
So a few questions for you:
1. How do you plan to reach people and let them know that this service exists?
2. How do you plan to address quality? For example, I might be willing to pay more for higher quality service.
3. Is your approach to be a marketplace (find the buyers and the sellers) or operate more like an insurance product (given the scale of people paying in you would have people choose their provider and you would pay certain rates)?
Hi @corleyh,
Glad you gave us a second thought! Lots of questions. Let me respond:
1) Obviously my #1 answer is via Product Hunt! :) But we have other ways. See @drewmeyers question above.
2) Very important. Three ways: before, during, and after. “Before” means that we investigate the reputation of the service provider before we first engage with them. “During” means that we speak with them to better understand the business practices that they have in place. “After” means we track metrics after they begin work (e.g., customer service feedback, on-time arrival, time to fix). We’re not only on the hook for cost; we’re also on the hook for quality.
3) We are not a marketplace. We are a subscription, and when you subscribe, you become a member. Members benefit from having us on the hook to find the right provider for the right job at the right time. Rating sites and marketplaces depend on crowdsourced high level data to power your decision making. We’re different. We use more detailed operational data to power our decision making. This applies towards covered costs as much as it applies towards any home service we coordinate.
One last note. Even though you’ve figured it out as a long-time homeowner, we have the buying power of many homes. Consumers only have the buying power of one home. This means that we’re in the position to negotiate better pricing and better availability. That’s big.
This is REALLY cool. As a huge home warranty advocate, I love the idea of a monthly subscription vs. being invoiced annually for something that's continually increasing, especially if there's a focus on quality service.
Jorey, I'm the co-founder of Casamatic, and we're simplifying home search by matching buyers to homes based on things they truly care about, like proximity to great activities, foods, and friends and family, and styles, etc. We're only in a handful of markets today but I'd love to see if there's an opportunity to work together.
A single plumbing issue can blow up your budget when you’re a homeowner. Oi, trust me. Having a service like this would actually make me want to own a home again.
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Curious how you are sourcing your contractors and how you will maintain the quality on that front? Also, any insight on your rollout schedule for additional markets?
@mikeorren Regarding quality, please see the response to @corleyh above. Regarding additional markets, we're just launching our first market; we'll be announcing more in 2016! In the meantime, I'd love to hear which markets Product Hunters want. Vote on our next market in the comments! And if you want to be notified when we come to your market, please enter your email on our website (see "Live elsewhere?"). Thanks!
I just visited the site and the area now serviced (DC area) is microscopic. I couldn't find the button to sign up for notifications for my area and had to chat with Bill to find it. I'm sure you guys are losing tons of leads from this. The writing is microscopic there and there isn't a Big Ol Button for people to click and sign up for notifications.
I'm super interested in this and can't wait for it to come to the Atlanta area. My HSA warranty expires in the summer next year and would jump all over this!
@jkhallatl Hi Keith, Glad you spoke with Bill. I agree: the font is too small. :)
Regarding Washington DC, we wanted to launch a solution that applies to all homeowners, and we looked at many different criteria, including climate, density, and demographics. Washington DC was the best aligned with our business and happens to be the seventh largest DMA nationally.
Glad you’re excited! We’ll let you know when we get to Atlanta!
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