Indiegogo may soon offer insurance for project backers

Getting money back from crowdfunding failures could get a lot easier if Indiegogo decides to offer optional insurance plans. According to TechCrunch, Indiegogo is testing insurance on at least one project, the stress management wearable Olive. On the campaign page, backers can add an insurance plan for $15, guaranteeing their money back if Olive doesn’t ship within three months of its estimated November 2015 delivery date. The page makes clear that Indiegogo, and not Olive, is providing the insurance.

This year has been a tricky one for crowdfunding site Indiegogo, thanks to a number of campaigns using its service to raise money for dubious projects (though there have been some cool uses). It looks like the company is responding with a new feature that offers backers some peace of mind about their investments. The company is testing an ‘Optional Insurance’ fee that provides a refund if backers do not receive the final product within three months of the estimated delivery date. Indiegogo insurance is being tested on one project at this point — stress-management wearable Olive — where it offers potential peace of mind for a $15 fee on top of the product’s $129 backing price. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it is running this test, but it declined to discuss wider plans for insurance. “Indiegogo regularly develops and tests new features to meet the needs of both funders and campaign owners. This pilot test is currently limited to this individual campaign,” a spokesperson told us.