Taking The 'Eina' Out Of Insurance

Founder of King Price, Gideon Galloway, explains how he took on the monopolists of the South African insurance space to offer a vehicle insurance product with decreasing premiums.

- Natalie Greve

A growing disdain for the “old-boy” structure of the domestic insurance industry prompted insurance veteran and entrepreneur Gideon Galloway to ditch the corporate rat race in June 2012 and establish disruptive insurer King Price. Starting with 23 employees, King Price hit the market with a novel vehicle insurance product that saw premiums decreasing every year – a world first, says Galloway. Today, over 102 000 clients have bought into the idea. The now 700 employee strong company’s portfolio has since included cover for buildings, home contents and businesses, among others – and even an option to insure Apple watches and golf clubs for R1 per month.

What sparked the idea of starting an insurance company?

 I spotted an opportunity to change the insurance industry, because, in my opinion, it’s dominated by giants that don’t realise their clients are becoming more discerning. For example, cars depreciate every month, so why aren’t all insurers decreasing car insurance premiums monthly?

I became frustrated with the lack of innovation in the industry and the stuck-up manner in which traditional insurers didn’t even want to communicate with their clients. It seemed like there was an opportunity to do better in the industry; an opportunity to take the ‘eina’ out of insurance. The business model looked massively scalable, especially if done correctly, so we took the chance.

How did you get start-up funding?