Captain launches ‘Build Now, Pay Later’ solution to high deductibles

“From a mortgage perspective, that underlying collateral is likely to fall in greater and greater disrepair because the consumer is like, ‘I don’t really have the 1% of home’s value,’ or 3% of home’s value in some cases, to pay for the new roof, or new siding, or new gutters – whatever the case may be. And so it’s really important to make sure they have alternatives so there’s still an incentive to move along the path accordingly.”

Such examples abound in the aftermath of the destructive Minnesota hailstorms, he noted. “We’re seeing that right now,” Gray said. “The one instance I saw was a $2,600 deductible for a middle-income household.” The example was an ideal prototype of the type of consumer eligible to have their deductible payments paid over time: “Frankly the contractor can’t, but Captain can,” Gray said of the source one would turn to in order to spread out the payment.

MPA noted the serendipity of having launched the company at a time of inflation when the cost of everything has gone up. “We’re not economists, but in this instance the sheer volume of price increases is certainly putting strong tailwinds to the program,” Gray acknowledged. “It’s about people knowing when there’s a better solution for them.”

San Francisco-based Captain was launched in May 2021 with an infusion of $104 million in capital, Gray said. The company runs an operations center in Louisville, Kentucky. Eligible insurers must have a rating of B-plus or better with the credit rating agency A.M. Best.