Real estate technology and services company Orchard announced Thursday it’s adding both home insurance and warranty services to its product offerings. The move comes on the heels of Orchard raising $69 million in funding with a stated goal to become the real estate industry’s Amazon.
Court Cunningham | Photo credit: Orchard
Orchard’s home insurance and warranty services join its existing suite of products, which include a home loans division, title insurance and search tools, all integrated into its consumer-facing dashboard, which launched in September.
“At Orchard, we’re radically simplifying the way people buy their homes, bringing the entire experience, from start to finish, into the 21st century,” Court Cunningham, the CEO and co-founder of Orchard, said in a statement.
Cunningham added that Orchard’s customers have expressed a desire to integrate more parts of the homebuying process into the Orchard platform. Adding home warranty and insurance allows those consumers to “have the option to get everything they need to buy a home with Orchard,” according to Cunningham.
Orchard’s insurance offering isn’t direct-to-consumer, rather the platform will allow consumers to find the plans that work best for their needs. Consumers fill out an online application within the Orchard platform and receive an email with a side-by-side comparison of options.
Through Orchard’s warranty platform, customers can buy a protection plan to shield them from many major expenses.
All of the services, as well as associated documents required, are all integrated within the Orchard platform, making tasks like providing proof of insurance so the home loan can close on-time more seamless, according to the company.
Orchard aims to serve dual-track consumers both buying and selling a home at the same time. The company operates in essentially three phases: a modern search platform, enabling customers to buy before they sell with a guarantee, and an all-digital close.
Orchard, which is headquartered in New York City, currently serves customers in Colorado, Georgia and Texas.