Intact Financial Corporation continues to extend its reach beyond the insurance sector.
After acquiring On Side Restoration, a Vancouver-based post-disaster restoration company, and taking a stake in AutoSculpt Group, which operates several auto body repair shops in Montreal, Intact has now acquired Jiffy, an application that connects consumers with providers of residential services.
This tool aims to simplify the search for contractors for home projects and make these services more accessible. With this acquisition, Intact says it is strengthening its presence in the home maintenance market.
“Our research has shown that one of the main concerns of homeowners is finding trusted professionals to take care of their homes,” the company states. “Since Jiffy’s goal is to make home maintenance simpler and more accessible, this natural partnership will help customers keep their homes in the best possible condition,” Katrina Caguimbal, spokesperson for Intact, told the Insurance Portal.
The transaction was announced on Nov. 14. Although now owned by Intact, Jiffy will continue to operate under its own name.
Availability
Based in Toronto, Jiffy is a Canadian company founded in 2015. Jiffy says that its various home improvement and renovation experts have completed 450,000 jobs for residential customers across the five cities where its services are offered, within a radius of 45 to 60 minutes.
The application is only available in in Toronto and Ottawa in Ontario, and in Calgary, Alberta, as well as in two U.S. cities, Boston and Chicago. However, 99% of its business is conducted in Canada.
This service is currently not available in Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, or the Atlantic provinces. Intact, however, envisions expanding Jiffy’s operations to other regions in the country.
“Through this acquisition, Jiffy will have the platform and capabilities to accelerate expansion of its services across more Canadian jurisdictions while supporting Intact's goals of engaging three out of four Canadian customers digitally,” the insurer wrote in its announcement.
“We are exploring a number of exciting opportunities to bring Jiffy’s services to new geographic regions by leveraging our national platform,” the company added. “Although we are in the early stages of this partnership, we hope to share more information about our expansion plans soon.”
How the application works
Jiffy connects consumers with residential service providers in nearly 35 different fields. These include appliance installation and repair, electrical work, painting, carpentry, water damage cleanup, flooring installation, patio and fence construction, masonry, garage repairs, tree maintenance, and house cleaning.
On Jiffy’s mobile application, users indicate the service they need. The average response time from a provider is 10 minutes, according to the company. Customer rates are based on industry averages or lower.
Jiffy claims to recruit high-quality home service professionals and conducts a pre-screening process that includes background checks, reference calls, and multiple training sessions to ensure they provide top-notch service from the start.
Before joining Jiffy’s provider network, selected professionals must also have valid credentials for their trade and adequate, up-to-date insurance for the services they offer.
Jiffy says it guarantees the work performed by its providers. The company claims that 96% of its customers have given it a five-star satisfaction rating.
“This partnership also supports Intact's ongoing efforts to build climate resilient communities and help Canadians reduce the risks associated with extreme weather events,” the insurer emphasized.
