The Naked Difference: a new approach where the company, customers and causes all win

Johannesburg, 13 October 2020 – AI-driven car, home and contents insurance provider,Naked, has announced that it has paid around R250,000 in cash to six South African non-profit organisations (NPOs) under the Naked Difference programme. This milestone highlights how Naked is pioneering a new approach to insurance where the provider can run a successful business while delivering an affordable and transparent insurance experience and creating social impact.

This is the first Naked Difference payment from Naked, which was launched in 2018. The programme embodies a new approach that provides customers with a fairer, more affordable and more transparent insurance experience – while sharing the benefits of a more efficient business model with causes in need.

The Naked Difference shares money left in the Naked claims pool at the end of each year with causes chosen by customers.* This is not a traditional corporate social investment, but a new, unconflicted business approach where clients benefit from a company acting in their best interests and serving the greater good of society.

“We started Naked because we are excited about the opportunity to create a new generation of insurance that aligns our interests with those of our customers. Our incentives are not linked to how much we pay out in claims each year, and that changes everything in insurance,” says Sumarie Greybe, co-founder of Naked.

“These are early days for the Naked Difference, but as our business grows, we expect to be able to pay more and more to causes and communities in the years when claims are lower than expected. We are excited about the opportunity to grow our contribution to communities in the years to come as our business expands.”

Says Adri Marais, CEO of Christel House South Africa: “We are proud of our partnership with Naked. We will use the funds from the Naked Difference programme to purchase essential COVID-related hygiene supplies and personal protective equipment to safeguard our 731 students.”

Carla Wessels, Partnerships and Communications Manager at Greenpop adds: “With every R120 contribution, we can plant a tree in one of our forest restoration projects across sub-Saharan Africa. Businesses like Naked are leading the way in terms of corporate social responsibility.”

The six NPOs that will benefit from the first Naked Difference pay-out are:

Christel House, a non-profit school in Cape Town that works to transform the lives of children living in poverty;
Cotlands, a non-profit early childhood development organisation;
Door of Hope, a charity that cares for abandoned babies;
Greenpop, a registered NPO who works to restore ecosystems and empower environmental stewards;
Living Legends, which implements sport and life skills programmes for impoverished youth; and
Oscars Arc, which runs the WOOF Project, a pop-up adoption initiative for shelter dogs.

“Naked earns its money through a flat fee; when there’s money left in the claims pot, it is paid to causes that make a real difference in the world, rather than adding it to our bottom line,” Greybe says. “That means we have no reason to make claiming difficult. As a customer, you know you won’t need to fight to get your claims paid and you also get to be part of something bigger that is making a social impact.”

How the causes will use the funding:

– Christel House will use the cash donation to buy face masks, face shields, cleaning products and equipment to sanitise classrooms and busses. and equipment for screening and sanitising students and staff before they enter school buses and the campus.
– Cotlands will use the funds to buy resources and supplies for its early learning playgroups and toy libraries in under-resourced communities.
– Door of Hope will use the Naked Difference payment to provide for the continued quality general care and wellbeing of 68 babies in its care, including essential purchases like food, milk, medicines, toiletries and play therapy.
– At Greenpop, the donation has funded the planting of 158 trees in Hogsback State Forest, Eastern Cape as part of the Forests for Life: Wild Bird Trust project.
– Living Legends will put the payment to work in its curriculum-based physical education and life skill programmes in primary schools.
– Oscars Arc will buy food and bedding for shelter dogs from the donation.

For more on the first Naked Difference payments, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ji9RcZRThQ.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: Unlike conventional insurance providers, Naked charges a fixed percentage of customers’ premiums to do everything. This flat fee means that its income doesn’t depend on how much it pays out in claims. When claims are low, the surplus remaining in the collective claims pool at the end of the year goes to causes customers care about.