Obie’s Commercial Real Estate Insurance Platform for Landlords

Often perceived as profitable, investing in commercial real estate has been a step taken by many. The US commercial real estate market, which is anticipated to reach over $25T this year, makes the US the greatest contributor to the real estate sector’s value worldwide, according to Statista.

While the outlook of commercial real estate is filled with optimism, players in the sector remain cautious over concerns about capital costs and landlord insurance costs. Typically priced at 15% to 25% more than standard homeowners insurance, insurance for landlords can range from $800 to $3K per year, possibly driven up further depending on the size of the property, market value, and so on. Processing insurance often takes quite some time as well, filled with hours of time-consuming tasks and two to three weeks to reach finalization.

Obie, a YC-backed cloud-based insurance technology company founded by brothers Aaron and Ryan Letzeiser, aims to ease the process for landlords and investors dealing in commercial real estate by creating a platform with insurance and portfolio management services.

Landlord Insurance

Though not entirely required by law in most, if not all, states in the US, commercial real estate insurance policies tend to be strongly considered by property owners to protect themselves against risks of a financial or legal nature. Specifically designed to cover rental units, the increased risk associated with properties that are occupied by numerous tenants makes landlord insurance costs more expensive than most other real estate insurance policies.

While the cost of landlord insurance differs depending on which coverage an owner chooses, coming in various forms from the most basic DP1 to the most comprehensive, that is, DP3, it would be ideal that, no matter which they choose, property owners should be able to find policies that provide the right coverage at an equally just and reasonable cost.

Though it would not be completely true to say that landlord insurance has become unreasonably expensive in the midst of the abundance of options insurance companies and agents offer, Obie believes that its services can fundamentally lessen the burden that comes with landlord insurance in terms of both cost and time.

According to Obie’s founders, who have worked in real estate private equity for almost a decade, commercial real estate is also “plagued with frustrating processes and frequent delays,” demanding property owners to waste countless hours on time-consuming tasks that could otherwise be automated or consolidated in just one place.

This could include hours on portfolio management or in policy research. Once owners decide on what to do, a short processing time is then also never guaranteed. With its platform, Obie aims to fundamentally change the way things in commercial real estate insurance work.

Simplified Insurance and Portfolio Management

When owning more than just one rental property, portfolio management plays a significant role in overseeing all these properties together to get the most value out of one’s real estate holdings. Portfolio management can then come into play in deciding which insurance to best choose from to minimize risks and costs while maximizing returns.

This entire process is far from simple, however, and what Obie does with its platform is make the entire insurance experience for landlords and investors simple, affordable, and transparent. Obie’s platform incorporates insurance search and processing as well as portfolio management services.

Obie’s tech-enabled services remove the hassle of paper applications and confusing processes, offering its customers a simple and straightforward process that can all be done online. Obie’s platform matches property owners with the right insurance through simple quote request processes that only take about five minutes, covering the needs of a single-family unit, a multifamily unit, an apartment with over 5 units, and condo units within a building.

Obie’s platform can also be used to access portfolio and risk management as well as insurance policy reviews all in one place, saving the time and money property owners would otherwise waste when utilizing more inefficient and outdated insurance practices. Those who already have their properties insured are also given the opportunity to switch to Obie easily.

Aside from providing simplified insurance for landlords, Obie also has an API for owners and investors to integrate insurance into their product offering easily. Obie offers a variety of insurance products and world-class benefits that serve as an add-on to a partner’s chosen insurance product. Once partners have made their choice, Obie’s policies can then be easily embedded.

With Obie, insurance processes are driven efficiently, enabling property owners, lenders, agents, managers, and investors a hassle-free way of running and insuring their units. The company claims that its services can save customers over 15% of the funds they would have spent on insurance premiums and run insurance processes that would otherwise take two to three weeks in only 72 hours or less.

Since it was founded in 2017, Obie has raised a total of $39M in funding, the company’s latest round landing it $25.5M, led by Battery Ventures.

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Job Posting

• Obie - Account Executive II - United States (Remote)

• Obie - Growth Marketing Manager - United States (Remote)

• Obie - Insurance Specialist II - United States (Remote)

• CapitalOne - Senior Lead Software Engineer, Full Stack - San Francisco, CA+ (Remote/Hybrid)

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