Startup Spotlight – Toronto-based JAUNTIN’ Launches On-Demand Travel Insurance App

JAUNTIN’ works with insurance companies to help distribute on-demand insurance through your smartphones.

We spoke to JAUNTIN’ founder and Toronto Travel Massive member Rain T on how he and his team are disrupting the traditional travel insurance model.

What exactly is JAUNTIN’?

JAUNTIN’ works with insurance companies to help them distribute on-demand insurance through people’s smartphones. We’re starting with travel insurance, and we’ve created an app that allows users to download, fill in their personal information once, and pay-as-you-go. This is a brand-new concept in Canada, and we’re proud to answer this need for Canadian travellers, and soon travellers worldwide.

How did you come up with this idea?

Travel Massive’s founder Ian and I were in Greece at the Travel Massive Unconference back in 2015 and he shared and idea with me about making travel insurance easier to purchase. I liked the idea so much I ran with it. Fast forward a couple years, a contract with AIG Canada, and we are and available for download in Canada. Plus, we have a solid pipeline of other insurance companies interested in partnering with us from around the world.

In all honesty, I fell into the insurance industry by accident. My past as a consultant & travel blogger made me realize the struggles facing travelers purchasing insurance and insurance companies alike.

I founded JAUNTIN‘ to help insurance companies bridge the gap between an on-demand world & traditional insurance.

How is buying travel insurance through JAUNTIN’ different from the current process?

You can purchase an annual travel insurance plan & hope to make use of it to justify the cost, or you can purchase travel insurance on a trip by trip basis that requires repeat paperwork and planning. JAUNTIN’ is revolutionizing this process by bringing the costs down, allowing travelers to turn their insurance on just before a trip, and eliminating the paperwork.

You can purchase an annual travel insurance plan & hope to make use of it to justify the cost

How is JAUNTIN’ making travel better for travelers?

Shockingly, over 50% of travelers are without adequate coverage (medical, trip delay or baggage loss). This can have costs as small as $100 replacing the contents of a bag, up to hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on overseas medical costs. By lowering the barriers to purchase and simplifying the process, more people will travel with insurance, giving peace of mind to travelers & their families.

What are your expansion plans?

JAUNTIN’ will not only transform the way we think about travel insurance but also the way in which we consume insurance. People no longer want to pay for things when they aren’t being used–we;ve seen that this is true for car sharing, & home rentals, and it’s also true for insurance. We are working on an on-demand drone insurance product which will allow drone pilots to turn their insurance on while they are flying their drones a few hours a week.

 Follow Rain on Travel Massive to connect with him and learn more about JAUNTIN’.