Sure launches Sure Verify™ to transform insurance coverage verification
case study

How Alcove launched embedded renters insurance with Sure in less
than a month

About the company

Making shared housing accessible in an unaffordable housing market

Alcove is a shared housing leasing platform that is changing the game of shared housing
by making it simple to lease private bedrooms
in single family homes.
Alcove enables tenants to easily search for available rooms, apply for housing, run credit and background checks, sign leases, and move into shared single family homes from a unified platform in a fraction of the time it would typically take.
By connecting those who need housing with available inventory of rooms and compatible roommates, Alcove
makes housing accessible to people who would otherwise
be priced out of the market or stumbling around in the
dark searching for options.
Brand shape

From start to finish, Alcove is the modern way to rent a room. We’ve made finding roommates and housing as easy as just booking an Airbnb or an Uber.

Colin Tai
CEO, Alcove
the problem

Old insurance process slowed everything down

Alcove set out with the ambitious goal of removing the friction of the shared housing process to make it a more enjoyable experience.
Their vision was simple: Build a platform to seamlessly manage all aspects of the shared housing process.
There was just one hurdle that stood in their way. The antiquated process of buying and managing insurance for tenants.
Renters insurance is required for all tenants using Alcove. However, and at no fault of their own, the process of securing and providing proof of renters insurance was stuck in the past. After new tenants signed a lease, Alcove had no other option but to inform tenants via email that renters insurance was required and they should speak to their local agent to purchase it.
At that point, users had to leave Alcove's platform to
research and buy insurance on their own, then come back to upload proof of coverage. This analog approach didn't match Alcove's brand promise of making the leasing process simple, easy, and all in one place.
Brand shape
the solution

Embedding renters insurance directly into the customer journey

Sensing that the manual renters insurance process was affecting user experience and misaligned with their brand promise, Alcove started searching for permissible ways to
let users streamline insurance on their platform during their existing customer flow.
“We're trying to do everything we can in every step of the process to make it easy and seamless on one platform. Adding renters insurance was the obvious progression to achieve our vision and a natural fit for our platform,” adds Tai.
They selected Sure as their licensed partner to launch and provide an embedded renters insurance program directly into the customer experience on the Alcove platform.
By partnering with Sure, Alcove moved closer towards being a truly all-in-one solution for shared housing while providing Alcove users the confidence that everything is completely handled for them.

We want it to be a value-add for our platform users.
We want them to know things are handled for them and they don’t have to go into the wild and find renters insurance on their own.

Patrick Wickham
CTO, Alcove
The partnership with Sure provided several advantages:
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Simple and quick setup
Configuration only requires one line of code, making deployment fast without straining dev resources.
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Faster, personalized checkout
Sure’s solutions allows customers to get a quote and buy a policy in under a minute.
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Native platform experience
Sure adds the renters insurance purchase journey natively into any existing flow, maintaining trust and continuity with users.
With this integration, Alcove can finally deliver on their promise of being a true end-to-end platform for the shared living economy, allowing users to complete their entire shared housing journey without ever leaving the Alcove platform.
Brand shape
the outcome

A modern solution that powers sustainable growth

Compared to other automation projects Alcove previously tackled, adding embedded renters insurance to their platform was refreshingly smooth and fast, launching in less than a month.
fast deployment
30%
higher conversion than industry standard
“Full credit to you guys for making it an easy experience. With Sure, we didn’t need to go back and forth on sandbox environments or API documents. There was little lift for us.”
Patrick Wickham
CTO, Alcove
Once the program went live, the results immediately exceeded expectations:
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Policy purchase conversion
The program achieved a 30% higher conversion rate than the benchmark for partners using iFrame implementations with required flows, showcasing the effectiveness of their thoughtful integration approach.
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Quote initiation rate
The quote initiation rate exceeded the average by 18%, indicating strong user engagement from the very first interaction with the insurance offering.
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Operational efficiency
The streamlined process eliminated the need for manual insurance verification and reduced customer support inquiries related to insurance requirements.
The program was able to generate results immediately not only because of the ease of deploying Sure's embedded insurance technology, but because of how strategically it was implemented within the customer purchase flow. Sure used their years of experience to integrate renters insurance in a way that wouldn't disrupt the process, offering it at the right moment to maximize the customer experience.
Brand shape

Compared to other things we have done for our platform, this was a total walk in the park. Everything else in the past we had to build ourselves, but that wasn’t the case with Sure.

Colin Tai
CEO, Alcove
Alcove's partnership with Sure shows how smart integration can turn operational requirements into competitive advantages. By partnering with Sure, Alcove finally achieved their goal of being a true end-to-end shared housing solution.
The high policy adoption rates prove that when insurance is offered at the right moment with the right experience, it becomes a natural part of the customer journey rather than an obstacle.
Brand shape

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