Digital mortgage broker Hoocht has added home insurance to its services.
It has teamed up with Homelyfe to allow its customers access to its products.
Hoocht, which was launched in November 2017, boasts the ability to complete mortgage applications in as little as 15 minutes using online chat and artificial intelligence.
Rich Wynn, founder and managing director at Hoocht, said: "People have a real appetite for digital mortgage solutions, as an alternative to the more traditional and time-consuming options available to them.
"We have a fairly simple mantra - 'life is too short to worry about mortgages, let Hoocht do that for you'.
"Homelyfe have the same motivation and, as we have always aspired to add other products and services to our portfolio, teaming up with them to offer digitally-powered home insurance was a perfect opportunity."
Homelyfe claims it offers a four-minute home insurance purchase, which uses "quote to buy" technology and data analytics to significantly reduce the time it takes customers to fill in their details.
It also incorporates a range of publicly-available information about homes, geographical areas and risk, to pre-populate parts of each customer's application, to make sure the customer has the right cover for the right price.
Its insurance app also offers people the ability to buy and manage multiple policies in one place - starting with home and home buyer's insurance and with the potential to add other options such as renter's insurance in the near future.
Peter Goodman, co-founder of Homelyfe, said: "Traditional insurers often ask complex, unnecessary questions - some of which are so complex many customers don't even properly understand them. But Homelyfe uses technology and data to avoid the interrogation and make sure each customer has the right level of cover, at the right price, in under four minutes.
"Plus, they can make changes to their policy like adding a new laptop, with none of the hidden admin fees that other insurers often charge."
But Martin Stewart, founder of London Money, was hesitant about buying important services online.
He said: "Personally I don’t think you should buy important products online. Yes, you may experience a rapid and fluid customer experience but the recent news story of a policy holder failing to declare an additional bedroom on his application and thereby invalidating his claim can show that speed can come with a hefty price.
"As yet we are not seeing a rush of people wanting to buy a £500k investment in ten minutes. Maybe that will change over time but, for now, the millennials appear to want to pop in, press the flesh and have a cup of coffee while they chat over the implications of a life time of debt."
damian.fantato@ft.com
