Also authored by: Kaitlyn E. Armstrong,
Student-at-law
(As published in Claims Canada, February/March 2017)
Consumers are increasingly interested in leasing and sharing
products rather than buying and owning them. The aptly named
"sharing economy" is growing rapidly, fuelled in part by
social media, which facilitates communication between peers willing
to share their possessions. While estimates for the current size of
the market vary, the consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers has
estimated that by 2025, five main sectors of the sharing economy
could represent $335 billion in revenue worldwide, up from
approximately $15 billion in 2015. The sharing economy is
transforming the way business is conducted and, as a result,
insurance companies will need to adapt their business models to
provide new products in support of this growing area.
