DingGo, a digital marketplace for private car repairs, has completed its seed round of funding, securing investment from a consortium led by leading international fleet management provider, SG Fleet Group Limited.
In a market where one in four drivers damages their car each year, and the cost of many repairs is lower than the insurance excess, DingGo is giving consumers an easier way to connect with independent repairers without needing to involve insurers.
“In the same way Houzz is a digital marketplace for consumers to identify trustworthy tradies, DingGo allows you to snap a few photos of your car damage, compare quotes from verified, local area repairers and book your car in to be repaired,” says DingGo CEO and co-founder, Shaun Janks.
SG Fleet expected to accelerate DingGo’s penetration of $2.2 billion sector. The strategic investment is expected to provide the young start-up with access to the significant number of vehicles in the fleets managed by SG Fleet.
“Fourty-four percent of fleet vehicles are involved in an incident every year. Given that insurance excess for fleet vehicles is usually much higher than average excesses, private repairs make a lot more sense, but the challenge is finding the right repairer,” says Janks.
The strategic partnership between DingGo and SG Fleet will include the creation of an online portal available to SG Fleet customers. “Typically, SMBs are opting in to the corporate fleet model, and when accidents happen, it’s the employee who is tasked with finding competitive repairer quotes. DingGo will become a go-to portal for them to quickly and easily find a solution,” Janks said.
DingGo says it plans to seize the $2.2 billion private and non-preferred insurance repairs segment.
“DingGo provides a great customer experience and is truly unique in the market. It’s an innovative approach that we believe can add a lot of value to our fleet customers and save them lots of time and stress,” says SG Fleet CEO, Robbie Blau.
Hail storm triggers repair request spike
The devastating hail storm to hit Sydney in December has resulted in 71,475 motor vehicle insurance claims, according to recent reports from the Insurance Council of Australia.
“We’ve been inundated with requests for hail damage repair. Importantly, if the damage is contained, the cost of private repair can often be less than the insurance excess,” says Janks.
DingGo has experienced significant growth in site visits off the back of the severe weather event, with a 309 percent revenue increase between November and January, and a 343 percent increase in traffic to the website over the same period.
“No one wants to deal with damage to their car. It’s a stressful and inconvenient process. We’re genuinely solving this problem with DingGo – and we’re the only player in the market doing it,” Janks said.