A relative newcomer to the insurance field, Thimble launched in 2016 and is already making waves. It was initially developed to bring liability insurance to drone operators, but customers loved it so much they asked about other industries. Eventually, Thimble expanded to cover 100 small business professions. Rather than lock you into a policy for a year, Thimble will let you buy insurance only for how long you need it—a month, a day or even an hour.
- Pros & Cons of Thimble Insurance
- Small Business insurance products offered: 25/100
- Financial Strength Rating: 90/100
- Customer Satisfaction Rating: 90/100
- Consumer Complaints Rating: 60/100
- Digital Experience Rating: 100/100
Pros
- You can buy a policy for however long you need it—a month, a week, or a day.
- You can extend, cancel or modify your current policy right from their app
- You can get a quote from Thimble in thirty seconds
- They insure over a hundred small business types, from dog walkers to contractors
- You can get a certificate of insurance instantly
- A-rated insurers underwrite all policies
- 24/7 claims support
- Policies start at $5 an hour with a zero deductible and $1 million in coverage
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Cons
- Not available in every state—although they’re working on that.
- They only have general liability insurance—if you’re looking for any other kind of insurance, you’ll have to go elsewhere.
Small Business Insurance Products Offered by Thimble
- General Liability Insurance: This covers bodily injury, medical expenses, damage to third-party, property, and defense costs.
- Professional Liability Insurance: also known as Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance. This protects you against claims that work has been done improperly and has caused monetary or reputational loss.
- Drone Liability: You can choose how long the flight time and select up to a two-mile radius. Drone liability insurance is underwritten by Global Aerospace. They insure both recreational and commercial flights. It covers accidental damage caused by a drone as well as invasion of privacy.
- Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance: A subset of professional liability insurance, mostly for real estate agents, insurance agents, home appraisers, notary officers, etc. It covers actual or alleged negligence that you or your team are sued, legal defense costs, and claims and damages in settlements arising from legal actions.
- Business equipment protection: It covers all equipment you own and use for work. The coverage includes any place where you work.
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Industries Thimble Covers
As of right now (Dec 2019), Thimble covers the following industries:
- Events and Entertainers
- Photographers and Videographers
- Janitors and Cleaners
- Hair and Beauty Professionals
- Pet Sitters
- Freelancers and Consultants
- Contractors and Handymen
- Landscapers
- Fitness and Personal Trainers
- Drone Pilots
Financial Strength Rating of Thimble
Score: 90/100
Thimble is underwritten by Markel insurance company, which is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. Even though they could be considered a start-up, Thimble is backed by solid financial resources.
Customer Satisfaction Rating of Thimble
Score: 90/100
The BBB rates Thimble (found under their previous name, Verifly) an A+. They have only two reviews on the BBB website, and they’re both positive.
The app has a rating of 4.8 (out of five stars), and most customers rave about how easy it is to get a policy and how affordable the rates are. 75% of their customers didn’t have any business insurance before they got Thimble insurance.
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Consumer Complaints Rating of Thimble
Score: 60/100
Thimble doesn’t appear on the NAIC, but if you search for Markel insurance, you’ll find that it gets a score of 1.01—almost exactly the number of complaints expected for an insurance company the size of Markel.
Digital Experience Rating of Thimble
Score: 100/100
To compare to other insurance companies offering yearly policies, we said we were looking for a policy for a handyman working in MA and wanted a policy that extended into November of 2020. Within thirty seconds, Thimble gave us this quote:
>>MORE: Contractor Insurance: 7 Policies, Costs, and Best 6 Providers
Obviously, if you buy a policy for a shorter period of time, you’ll pay less. Also, contractors and handymen tend to pay more for insurance, so if you’re in a different industry you’ll pay less as well.
To see what kind of a quote it would give us, we also entered that we were a personal trainer and needed insurance for the next two hours, and Thimble gave us this quote:
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Again, it took literally 30 seconds.
Last thoughts
If you work in an industry where you only need business liability coverage some of the time, Thimble might be perfect for you. If you’re a handyman who works only eight months of the year, Thimble can insure you for just those months, and you can suspend the policy the other four months of the year, with no charge or penalty. It’s a great idea for anyone who needs insurance but doesn’t want to be locked into an expensive policy for a year or more.
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