“We simply don’t understand why civilians need military-grade weapons, and we prefer not to insure them.”
Discussing guns has become a polarizing topic, which is why most companies avoid gun discussion. Period. But Lemonade, the insurance tech company powered by artificial intelligence and behavioral economics, was founded to make insurance into a social good, and in a recent blog post, Lemonade makes good on its mission and disclosed its new policies toward gun insurance.
“That requires being upfront about what we think ‘good’ is, and is not. When it comes to the Second Amendment, therefore, we can’t take the Fifth. After the awful massacre in Las Vegas, we’re not sure anyone should. Our company, like our community, includes gun owners as well as gun control advocates. Many are both. But while we respect gun ownership, we’re not into gun worship,” posted Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber. “This is why our policies limit the amount we will pay out for the damage or theft of firearms to an entirely adequate $2,500. If you own more than $2,500-worth of firearms, we recommend trying one of our competitors. They seem to all offer additional coverage. We don’t. Our policy already excludes coverage for any illegal guns or gun use, but in our next version we plan to add more protections around firearms.”
- Lemonade will exclude insuring assault rifles altogether. “We simply don’t understand why civilians need military-grade weapons, and we prefer not to insure them,” stated the Lemonade CEO.
- Requirements will be added that firearms be stored securely and used responsibly, upon penalty of voiding coverage.
“We believe guns should be treated mindfully and soberly, not as a plaything, a status symbol or an ideological prop. Reasonable people, we believe, can agree on that,” added Schreiber.
[clickToTweet tweet=”.@Lemonade_Inc CEO @daschreiber: ‘We believe guns should be treated mindfully and soberly…’ @crowdfundinside” quote=”‘We believe guns should be treated mindfully and soberly, not as a plaything, a status symbol or an ideological prop. Reasonable people, we believe, can agree on that,’ noted Daniel Schreiber.”]
On the blog, Schreiber continued,
“As an insurance company, it falls to us to shield our customers from damage to their guns, and by their guns. It stands to reason that we want members who take the responsibilities of gun ownership as seriously as we do. And so, we’ll continue crafting our policies for the vigilant gun owner, not the vigilante gun owner. The former are welcome, and will find our policies cover them fully; the latter aren’t, and won’t. We’re under no illusion that our industry, let alone our company, can solve gun violence. But being unable to change much doesn’t give us license to change nothing. Here’s to everyone doing their part.”
The Lemonade Insurtech platform is all App based and zero paperwork. Lemonade takes a flat fee and then gives back unclaimed money to causes policyholders care about with their ‘Giveback’ program. Lemonade seeks to pay claims within minutes. The platform has said that it will broach politically and ethically charged topics periodically, and to be open about our efforts to align its investment practices and insurance policies. This announcement is the first post on its new “Ethics of Insurance” series.
Steve Sisolak, the Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas, initiated the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund GoFundMe campaign to funds to assist the victims of the tragic Las Vegas shooting. Funds will be used to provide relief and financial support to the victims and families of the horrific Las Vegas mass shooting. To date The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund has raised over $10,898,250 from more than 86,215 donors.