Last winter, I was at a car rental counter with a friend getting a car for the day. When getting the paper work done, I noticed he was hesitant about the insurance options in front of him and decided to get the full coverage "just in case." It was there where I noticed I was not alone.
My Own Coverage Anxiety
Here's the thing. I rent cars maybe 2-3 times a year, and it always stresses me out. How do I figure out what my credit card actually covers? What are their limitations and exclusions? How do I make a claim? Even when I chat with Amex support through their app, I walk away more confused than before.
After watching my friend go through the same mental gymnastics, I went down a research rabbit hole. And I kept thinking: if people like us can't figure this out, what about everyone else?
Turns Out, It's an Epidemic
I've lived and worked in four countries: Finland, the US, the Netherlands, and Spain. Different credit cards from different regions. All types of insurance policies. Complex employee benefits.
Yet I was completely blind to my own coverage.
The research I found was eye-opening: 60% of travelers have no clue about their existing coverage when they're abroad. 94% feel anxious about international travel. Every single day, millions of people make coverage decisions blind—buying stuff they don't need, missing protection they've already paid for.
The numbers are clearly pointing to a problem that needs fixing, but here's what really gets me: the human cost. People discover dangerous gaps only when it's too late.
The "Aha" Moment
We're living in this incredible age of AI development. Yet we're using it mostly to write emails and LinkedIn posts?
I work in tech. I read fine print. I'm comfortable with complex systems. If I couldn't easily understand my coverage, how could anyone else?
The industry actually profits from this confusion. Insurance companies even acknowledge that "the variety of offered services causes confusion of the customer." They like it that way.
But what if it didn't have to be this way?
Building the Solution
Norte came from that frustration. We built the world's first Coverage Intelligence Platform because everyone deserves to know what protection they have before making coverage decisions.
Our system pulls together:
- Credit card benefits (parsed from actual policy data)
- Personal insurance policies
- Regional legal requirements
- Geographic risk contexts
And more is coming soon. What took me 3 hours of research, Norte does in 2 minutes.
Why I Built This
I created Norte so no one else has to experience that rental car counter anxiety. Our mission? Coverage transparency in an intentionally opaque industry.
Not just saving money (though people typically discover $2,000+ in unknown coverage). Not just convenience (though we compress hours of research into minutes).
Peace of mind. Confidence. Clarity when you need to make those critical decisions.
Your Turn
Every day, people face their own "rental car counters": travel booking sites, electronics stores, insurance websites. Making coverage decisions without complete information.
You don't have to.
Norte gives you what I wished I had that day: complete visibility into your coverage before you need to make a decision. Because when you know what protection you have, you can make confident choices instead of anxious guesses.
Ready to see your complete coverage picture? Try Norte free – no credit card required, 2-minute setup.
Jose M. Sánchez is the Founder & CEO of Norte, the world's first Coverage Intelligence Platform. He's lived and worked across four countries, experiencing firsthand the complexity of multi-regional coverage systems. Norte is helping our beta users discover their complete coverage picture, eliminating anxiety and waste in coverage decisions.