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Re:Ask HN: Would You Pay? by smt88 on Tuesday January 07, 2020 @03:20AM (#21978068)
That's just insurance. You'd be insuring the amount of the deposit. Any business can buy this from a major insurance company if they want.
Re:Ask HN: Would You Pay? by dafounder on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @02:28AM (#21989123)
They can't because it's not a current product offering.
Re:Ask HN: Would You Pay? by smt88 on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @06:16AM (#21990389)
Insurance is not a current product offering? I think you're trying to pitch a financial product without a deep enough understanding of finance as a concept and perhaps as an industry.

If, for example, Hertz wanted to stop requiring a $250 deposit on vehicles and instead take a $22 fee, they could approach any large insurance company and find out if they would underwrite it. That company's actuaries would assess the risk of a typical Hertz customer and either say that, yes, $22 is enough to cover losses, or no, it needs to be higher.

In fact, Hertz may already do this. A $250 deposit is incredibly low for someone renting a $20-40k vehicle with nothing more than a driver's license and credit card.

Source: I'm a partner in an insurance startup.