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What do you want to happen when you die?
If you haven’t thought about it, it could be because the topic makes you uncomfortable, or that the life insurance options available simply aren’t cutting it. In most cases, it’s a combination of both. That’s exactly why DeadHappy decided to turn the life insurance model on its head with a totally new, simplified and even enjoyable experience.
While there currently isn’t a solution for death itself (Elon Musk is working on that), DeadHappy can ensure that you’re prepared for it, and can rest assured that everything will happen exactly the way you want it to when the day comes.
We sat down with founder Phil Zeidler to find out more.
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What’s DeadHappy’s mission in a nutshell?
We’re trying to change attitudes to death – it’s a topic that people avoid, which, in our view, is unhealthy. This prevents people from thinking about, talking about and planning for what is an inevitable event. Without planning and forethought, the pain of losing a loved one can be exacerbated enormously by unnecessary financial distress and angst about whether they’re ‘doing what you would have wanted’.
What about traditional life insurance wasn’t working, and how does DeadHappy address this?
Life insurance isn’t meeting customers’ needs. The average term of a life insurance policy is 23 years, yet the majority of customers cancel it within 9 years, because it’s inflexible and fails to meet their changing needs. The flat pricing structure also ensures all these people have substantially overpaid. We have designed a flexible policy that is regularly reviewed to ensure it can meet the customers evolving needs over time, and is priced based on their risk of dying today, not the average risk of dying over 23 years – which makes it cheaper in the long run.
We’ve also made it easier. It only takes 3-5 minutes to sign up, and you can do it on your mobile phone, while most existing products require a phone call or even a meeting with an IFA, which can take a lot more time than you’d like to set up.
What really stands out is our Deathwish platform; a powerful way to engage with our customers and help them work out exactly what they want to happen when they die, even giving them inspiration on issues they hadn’t considered. They can actually share these Deathwishes with the beneficiaries digitally, something no other provider offers – and this happens to be a viral marketing machine for us too.
Finally, we use humour to help positive engagement with customers. This is unusual in the life insurance space, but it’s exceptionally powerful when tackling difficult topics and is helping to craft a totally new outlook on death that we think is a necessary transition. We have deliberately put the customer at the heart of everything we do, and have demonstrated that they respond warmly to this approach.
What has been the biggest success to date?
We’re extremely proud of the fact that we’ve turned the concept of the first entirely digital life insurance product that can be bought in under 5 minutes, into reality. The status quo suggests that insurance is always sold, not bought. We have demonstrated that this doesn’t have to be the case. We built something simple, intuitive and engaging, that customers will buy without any intervention – it will make their lives a whole lot easier, and they know that.
What has been the biggest learning for the company so far?
Often the biggest barrier is setting the bar too high. We’ve had to teach ourselves not to overthink solutions, and to be prepared for mistakes that will happen along the way. Those mistakes usually end up being the most valuable lessons, and lead to a better solution a lot more quickly.
What products or features do you have in your pipeline that the market should watch out for?
We’re about to launch our digital wills product as an MLP (Minimum Lovable product) in the next few months, and our member-get-member incentive programme to encourage all our customers to spread the word about Deadhappy.
There are also a host of new Deathwishes being developed to inspire customers and which they can soon add in to their plan at any time. Whether you want Rick Astley to sing at your funeral, a bronze statue of yourself for the garden or to send your mates on holiday, it’s your call, and we can make it happen.
Why did you choose crowdfunding and what are you looking forward to most about this raise?
Our customers have been brilliant in actively supporting the business with positive reviews, and we wanted to give them the chance to share in our success. We also figure it will spur them on to spread the word about Deadhappy even further, and that’s a win-win.
How would you describe your team and what do you look for in new hires?
We’ve always been in the business of hiring really talented passionate individuals. We’ve created a culture that eschews hierarchy and supports everyone to deliver their best work. When we hire, the top three things we look for are cultural fit, cultural fit and cultural fit. It’s essential that our people are passionate enough to fight their corner and brave enough to admit when they’re wrong, are simultaneously challenging, supportive and independent and most of all care deeply about something… no matter what that something is.
What’s the biggest life hack you can give for financial wellness?
Invest in Deadhappy…and buy a DeadHappy life insurance plan.
What’s one thing that would make you truly dead happy?
If we hit £3 million in this crowdfunding round!
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To support DeadHappy to £3 million raised on Seedrs, visit the pitch now.
