What PandaGuarantee does

PandaGuarantee, operated by Rent 3, Inc. (a Delaware C-corporation), is a licensed insurance agent and broker that sells lease guaranty and security deposit replacement policies to renters in U.S. rental markets, with New York City as its primary commercial market. The company serves two sides of the rental transaction: renters who cannot meet standard landlord screening (the 40x monthly rent income rule) or cannot produce a qualifying U.S.-based personal guarantor — including international students, freelancers, self-employed professionals, and recent graduates — and landlords/property managers who need protection against tenant default in a market where NYC eviction timelines can exceed a year and $10,000 in legal costs. The core product is a one-time, non-refundable fee of 3-8% of yearly rent (roughly 40-100% of one month's rent, risk-based) that activates coverage the moment the lease is signed, with claims paid within five business days.

The platform is built around an AI/ECDIS-driven underwriting model that evaluates alternative data beyond traditional credit and W-2 income, integrated with Plaid for financial account and income verification, and exposed to landlords through a proprietary claims-management dashboard. Coverage is underwritten by Crum & Forster, an A+ rated (AM Best) surplus lines carrier, which provides the balance-sheet credibility that anchors the landlord value proposition. The underwriting system does not use protected class characteristics in violation of NY Insurance Law, a constraint disclosed in the company's regulatory notice.

PandaGuarantee's go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer self-serve renter applications on pandaguarantee.com with same-day processing and automatic quoting, combined with B2B landlord and property-manager enrollment that makes the product an accepted guarantor alternative at enrolled buildings. The company is accepted at 16,000+ units across all five NYC boroughs and distributes through brokers and leasing agents at those buildings. Co-founder and CEO Tom DeRose (also the company's New York Designated Responsible Licensed Producer under P&C Individual License 1898308) personally engages renters on community platforms such as Reddit, a touchpoint the company markets as a differentiator against more automated competitors like TheGuarantors, Insurent, and Rhino. Co-founder John Rhodes serves as President. The company is privately held, founded in 2025, headquartered in Austin, Texas, and bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional funding.

Name

PandaGuarantee

Legal name

Rent 3, Inc.

Website

https://pandaguarantee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PandaGuarantee (Rent 3, Inc.) is a licensed insurance agent and broker selling lease guaranty and security deposit replacement policies to U.S. renters — especially international, freelance, and thin-file applicants — and to landlords seeking tenant default protection, with NYC as its primary market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lease Guaranty Insurance

NAICS

Consumer Goods Rental (5322)

SIC

Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)

akta.pro primary industry

Renters Insurance (FSAJACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Captive Insurance Advisory & Management (FSAEADAF)

Keywords

• Lease guaranty insurance
• Rent guarantee services
• Tenant default coverage
• Security deposit replacement
• Rental insurance brokerage

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Lease Guaranty Fee (One-Time): Renters pay a one-time annual fee of 3%-8% of yearly rent to obtain a guarantee against default, protecting landlords while expanding housing access for creditworthy renters. The fee is non-refundable and covers the full lease term. Pricing varies by tenant risk profile, ranging from approximately 40% to 100% of one month's rent. Higher-risk profiles pay more.
2. Security Deposit Replacement Bond: The company also offers security deposit replacement rental bonds as surplus lines insurance products, providing an alternative to traditional security deposits. This is a complementary revenue stream for landlords seeking to reduce upfront tenant costs while maintaining financial protection.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PandaGuarantee sells lease guaranty insurance policies that protect landlords against tenant default for the full lease term, underwritten by A+ rated carrier Crum & Forster. Renters pay a one-time non-refundable fee of 3%-8% of yearly rent to obtain a guaranty that substitutes for a personal co-signer, while landlords enroll their buildings and receive claims paid within 5 business days through a proprietary dashboard.

Product overview

PandaGuarantee operates as a dual-sided lease guaranty platform with two integrated core products: (1) the Institutional Lease Guarantee product, which provides landlords with full-term tenant default protection backed by A+ rated insurance carrier Crum & Forster, and (2) the Renter Guarantor Service, which helps renters who fall short of NYC's strict 40x income rule and 80x guarantor income requirements qualify for apartments by purchasing a lease guaranty policy. The platform differentiates through fast approvals (same-day processing), rapid claims handling (paid within 5 business days), and competitive pricing. The company is licensed as an insurance agent and broker (Rent 3, Inc. d/b/a PandaGuarantee) and its products are underwritten by surplus lines insurers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Institutional Lease Guarantee Full-term tenant default insurance coverage sold to landlords and property managers, underwritten by Crum & Forster as surplus lines insurance and placed through PandaGuarantee as licensed agent/broker. Approved claims are paid within 5 business days, with same-day application processing and automatic quote issuance.
• Renter Guarantor Service Self-serve service enabling renters who fail traditional 40x income or 80x guarantor-income screening to purchase a one-time non-refundable guaranty policy (3%-8% of yearly rent) and present it to landlords as a substitute for a personal co-signer.
• Security Deposit Replacement Bond Surplus lines rental bond product that lets landlords waive or reduce traditional cash security deposits while retaining financial protection against tenant damage or default.

Quantifiable outcome

• Claims paid within 5 business days of approval
• +5 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Plaid Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationPlaid Inc. provides financial data connectivity infrastructure used by PandaGuarantee for income verification and financial account linking. When renters use certain features (such as verifying income or connecting financial accounts), PandaGuarantee directs users to Plaid to access and process financial account information. Plaid's End User Privacy Policy governs how user financial data is handled.
• Thomas DeRosecoreOthersThomas DeRose is the Designated Responsible Licensed Producer for Rent 3, Inc. (d/b/a PandaGuarantee), holding New York P&C Individual License 1898308 and P&C Entity License 1899695. He is the company's licensed insurance producer responsible for regulatory compliance in New York.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Bungalow: Bungalow operates a co-living rental model that addresses similar renter pain points (flexible approval, alternative screening) though not through insurance products. Comparable target renter segments and complementary, not directly competing, but adjacent in serving renters rejected by traditional landlord screening.
• LeaseTrack: LeaseTrack is an emerging player in the rental financial products space, offering rent payment and lease management tools that touch the same landlord-renter transaction layer. While not a direct insurance competitor, LeaseTrack addresses overlapping pain points around rent default risk and tenant screening from a software angle.

Broad incumbents

• Assurant Connect Lease Guarantee: Assurant offers lease guarantee products through its specialty insurance division, serving similar landlords and property managers. As a large incumbent with broader insurance capabilities, Assurant competes for the same institutional accounts but as part of a much wider product portfolio.
• Lemonade: Lemonade is a broad digital insurance incumbent offering renters insurance (and other property lines) directly to consumers. While not a lease guarantor, Lemonade addresses the same renter demographic with adjacent financial protection products and represents the kind of scaled digital insurer that could expand into lease guarantees over time.

Direct peers

• Rhino: Rhino is a direct competitor in the rental housing financial products space, primarily known for security deposit replacement. PandaGuarantee explicitly positions its deposit replacement bond against Rhino's offering and competes for the same landlord and renter relationships across the same apartment-application funnel.
• TheGuarantors: TheGuarantors is the dominant NYC institutional lease guarantor and PandaGuarantee's primary named competitor. PandaGuarantee explicitly prices ~20% below TheGuarantors and markets directly against it in comparison content. Both serve the same landlord and renter segments with the same fundamental product: institutional lease guarantees backed by regulated insurance carriers.
• Insurent: Insurent is a direct competitor offering lease guarantor services to renters who don't meet traditional screening criteria, with pricing PandaGuarantee benchmarks against (65%-85% of one month's rent for U.S. renters, 95%-110% for non-U.S.). Both target the same underserved NYC renter segments and compete for landlord acceptance.
• Jetty: Jetty is a renter-focused insurance and financial products company offering lease guarantees and deposit replacement products through landlord partnerships. Comparable product mix and target customer base to PandaGuarantee, with a similar positioning around serving renters shut out by traditional screening.

Others

• Crum & Forster: Crum & Forster is the A+ AM Best rated insurance carrier that underwrites PandaGuarantee's products. Not a competitor but a core infrastructure partner — comparable to how a reinsurer or capacity provider enables an insurtech's product, and a structural dependency rather than a market peer.
• Plaza Equity Real Estate: Plaza Equity is a property management firm operating large NYC multifamily portfolios that could serve as both a potential distribution partner and a benchmark for institutional landlord adoption. Includes relevant context on how property managers evaluate lease guarantee vendors at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PandaGuarantee