ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN
Kiwi Insure Offers Travel Insurance For Surfers and Other Adventurers
Elvis Costello sang about it in 1979 and it’s truer than ever: “Accidents will happen.” Elvis was singing about romance and relationships, and it’s definitely true in the world of surfing, and all action sports: accidents happen and they have a tendency to happen at the worst time and in the worst places.
Kiwi Insure is a startup which empowers people to have more adventures and fulfilling lives. They have a new personal insurance product of covering people’s deductible.offering travel insurance to surfers and other adventurers. For a low cost, Kiwi can save your hide and your finances in case an accident happens in the middle of nowhere, and you need help, fast.
EVGENY ALEKSANDROV
Evgeny Aleksandrov founded Kiwi with his team in late 2017 to empower people to have more fulfilling and adventurous lives. Prior to Kiwi, he wore multiple hats at the world’s most-recognized services brand in New York City including global management consulting firm McKinsey and investment banks of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. Evgeny has been fortunate to pursue his passion of self discovery from sub-urban planes in Russia to metropolitan New York City with pit stops in Vancouver and London. With engineering degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities, he believes most problems are solvable but it's the human aspect that makes solving them worthwhile.
In February of 2020, with the world freaking out about Coronavirus, Evgeny sat down with former Surfer Magazine editor and triple-urchin-survivor Ben Marcus to talk about accidents happening, and how Kiwi Insure can save you from trouble - physical and financial.
You sometimes don’t use the definite article - as my ex-Russian wife used to do - and you seem to have a Russian name but your company name and logo show the national bird of New Zealand.
Which is it? Russian or Kiwi?
More Russian than I often realize. My accent gives it away. While I have been fortunate to travel to more than 45 countries, New Zealand is still on the bucket list. I heard it has amazing landscapes. The name for Kiwi comes from a fruit that resembles my five-year-old Shiba Inu pup named Mochi. Plus a healthy dose of market validation. Kiwi resonates with people.
Yes Kiwi is a friendly word. The New Zealanders are nice people and in New Zealand, there are no dangerous animals or insects whatsoever - except maybe for sharks and they are rare. Kiwi is a benign word.
But where are you from? Where did you go to school? How did you get into the insurance business?
I was born in Russia on the cusp of its transition to a nascent democracy. I still have fond memories of my childhood and surrounding rich culture. Over the last decade, I've called New York City my home with pit stops in Vancouver and London. With engineering degrees from Cornell and Columbia Universities, I enjoy solving problems but believe it’s the human aspect that makes solving them worthwhile. In the insurance business, I got a sense for the opportunity from innovation while advising a number of insurance carriers during my time at McKinsey - a global consulting firm. I got exposed to the financial sector through my time at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.
You say you offer "sport and adventure insurance." What is that exactly? Which sports and adventures do you cover?
Kiwi is a mission-driven company. We aim to empower people to have more fulfilling and adventurous lives. We start with covering a surfer/traveler’s out-of pocket expenses and deductibles. Breaking bonds does not mean breaking your bank account. We cover a wide variety of sports and activities.
If you can think of it, we most likely cover it. Back flips? Sure. Parasailing? You got it. Scuba? That's right. Watching TV at home? We discourage that but do cover. We also offer cover for your loved ones engaged in these activities.
Speaking from experience, I once got an ear infection in Sumbawa and had to take a long ride on a bus to find a clinic in the middle of nowhere. On a trip to Kauai my girlfriend and I both got staph from spider bites. On Oahu for three years I got spined by urchins three times at Threes. Had to go to Kaiser Hospital for one of them.
Over the years, I’ve interviewed a lot of shark attack victims and while it’s bad enough to get mauled by a maneater, if that happens to you without medical insurance you are truly screwed - one girl took a $7000+ helicopter ride to the hospital and it went on and up from there. A Santa Cruz friend of mine had his hip slip out of its socket while surfing somewhere in Indo, and the result was hellaciously painful and expensive.
I know people who’ve gotten staph, mowed by tsunamis, hit by their boards. In essence: S@#$% happens, and it can be very painful and very expensive.
Have you done business in the surfing world before? What products are you offering to surfers?
Our product that covers out-of-pocket medical costs is new to surfing. That's why we are so excited to share the offering and support the lifestyle. We also cover damage to the board, either rental or personal one. Lastly, should there be a need for medical evacuation including heli travel, we got you covered.
Can you give me a sample - made up or real - of someone who bought one of your policies, what it cost, the accident that happened, and what your policy covered?
We have customers but have been fortunate to not experience a claim event yet. At Kiwi, we believe the claim process is an extremely valuable moment in the life of a customer journey.
Here’s a slogan: “When you are in deep kimchi, we’re the ones to see.”
If you look at the stats, an average injury is north of seven thousand dollars. Breaking bones can break bank accounts in this country. Kiwi aims to provide that stop gap cover.
Are there limitations to your policies? All countries operate differently, and I could see problems occurring if you are in the middle of nowhere. How are the communications?
We have 24 / 7 live customer support. Folks can call in from anywhere to get assistance and guidance. Naturally, the best place to call when an accident happens is 911 in the US. Our coverage kicks in post fact, so whatever hospital you go to abroad, we get you covered.
Travel insurance has been kind of sketchy in the past. Has this 21st Century modern world and Internet communications made travel insurance a more credible, reliable service? Is this service on the level of Uber or AirBnB?
Kiwi is beyond just travel insurance. We are a lifestyle company. Our mission is to empower people to have more fulfilling and adventurous lives. With new technology, we create new experiences of reachability, relevancy and accountability. Beyond just the experience, it’s the insurance product that fits people’s needs of getting their deductible covered on those days they chose to pursue adventure and pick up affiliated medical risk.
Do you have any clients who can provide a testimonial for your service: How it saved their skins and their money?
Definitely, we have customer reviews and testimonials on our site. It’s live and up-to-date with the latest.
Where can people go for more information?
Come visit us on our site at https://kiwiinsure.co or ping us on instagram where we are active @kiwi_insure. Love to see you there and give us a try!
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