Eleos and Homebox Partner to Close the UK Protection Gap for Renters

Eleos, the digital provider of life insurance and income protection, has partnered with Homebox, the platform that manages household bills for renters and home movers across the UK.

The partnership comes at a time when Eleos has also launched its personalised protection advice arm, giving customers the option to speak to an expert adviser. Together they give Eleos a route to a group the protection market has historically struggled to reach, and the means to convert them once reached.

UK protection distribution is built around the mortgage moment. The FCA's Pure Protection Market Study interim report, published in January 2026, found that 80 per cent of new policies in 2024 were sold through intermediaries, with mortgage advisers accounting for 36 per cent of intermediated sales. Consumers who never take a mortgage are therefore never prompted. The interim report identifies the consequence directly. Alongside its discussion of consumers with pre-existing health conditions, it notes that "several other customer segments may also be underserved within this group, including: young people and renters, self-employed people and gig economy workers, people with poor digital access, low-income householders, ethnic minorities and women."

Homebox provides that prompt. The platform was built to simplify the setup of utilities during a change of tenancy, and guides tenants through their home setup at the point they move. It has taken more than 100,000 home movers through its process and works with over 1,000 letting agent branches across the UK.

Until now, Eleos has operated as a digital self-serve proposition, servicing thousands of customers every month, with AI agents including Theea, its digital co-pilot, providing instant first-line support around the clock. The new service builds on that layer rather than replacing it. Customers can now choose to speak to an expert adviser at any point in the journey, for cover tailored to their own circumstances rather than a standard digital route.

"Homebox reaches renters at the point they move, which is exactly the prompt the FCA says this market is missing. That fits how we already work, embedding protection into journeys people are completing anyway, and thousands of customers now come to us every month through our partners. Putting an expert adviser alongside that extends what we do rather than replaces it. Most will still buy digitally in minutes. But the option to talk to someone is now there whenever they want it, whether that is a health condition, an unusual occupation, or simply working out the right level and type of cover, and we can place that case with the right insurer instead of losing it." said Kiruba Eswaran, Founder and CEO of Eleos.

"Homebox works with home movers across the UK to help them set up their household bills and insurance. Moving home is a highly stressful moment but also an opportunity for consumers to reflect on whether they have got the right level of cover to help them as their life evolves. That's why we're delighted to be working with Eleos to be able to offer income protection and life insurance products to our base of home movers to give them that extra level of comfort and peace of mind." said Jack Ray, CEO of Homebox.