What We're Building at Panda Company

Panda Company is the parent brand behind PandaGuarantee, PandaDeposit and PandaRenters, three insurance products for residential landlords, property managers and renters. Our lease guarantee is free to landlords, and we pay claims in 3 business days.

We recently changed our company name to Panda Company. Same company, same ownership, same team. It’s a friendly name, with a serious brand around it. I want to explain what the new name is for. 

Why the name Panda Company?

The Panda name came out of our student housing company, and we kept it when we pivoted to guarantor insurance. Most guarantor companies have names that feel cold and institutional. We wanted a name people remember, that feels approachable to a renter in the middle of a stressful move, and that reflects how we treat customers. It also works across products: PandaGuarantee, PandaDeposit, PandaRenters, and what comes next.

Behind the name are three core values: Care, Courage and Communication. Care is why the brand is warm and why we’re quick to reach by phone, email or text. Courage means taking on hard problems and thinking from first principles, not copying how the industry has always worked. That’s how we built a claims process around two questions. Communication isn't just how we talk, it also includes how our systems communicate with our customers — a fast, easy experience with our technology. We’ve built with AI tools from day one: More than 85% of applicants are approved same day, and 42.4% of applicants are approved within seconds.

I was the renter who got turned away

I went to college in New York. When I first went looking for an apartment, I was with a few roommates, some of them international students. We applied at one building and got turned down. Then the next one.

We weren't bad tenants. We just didn't look strong enough on paper. A couple of students, a few with no U.S. credit history. To a landlord, we were a common thin-credit applicant type that simply requires a guarantor.

We ended up paying the leading guarantor company about a month's rent to back our lease. Because of that guarantee, the landlord said yes. The high cost of the guarantor insurance and frustrating process stuck with me.

I started Panda a few years later as a student housing company. When I saw the excellent payment history of so many of our student tenants, I realized that we could launch a lease guarantee business that better priced and served this market. I'd been on the renter's side of that product. I thought we could offer a better experience for less cost, with more coverage and much better customer service.

I talked through all of this recently on Closed!, a New York real estate podcast.

Insurance is overcomplicated

That's my opinion, at least. And most landlords I talk to agree.

A landlord wants to know two things. Will the rent get paid? If it doesn't, how fast do I get it? A renter wants to know if they qualify and what it costs. Too many products bury those answers under forms, exclusions and phone trees.

Everything we build starts from keeping those answers short.

We underwrite with a formula

We don't approve people on a gut feeling. We use an objective formula built on credit score, income, savings and whether the applicant has a personal guarantor. For international applicants, we built our own classification system, because a missing U.S. credit file says nothing about whether someone will pay rent.

Every applicant also scans their ID and face, and connects their bank account so we can confirm their income at the source. If something doesn't add up, a person on our team reviews the file.

At PandaGuarantee, 42.4% of renter applicants are approved within 10 seconds, and 85.7% are approved within minutes. Those figures come from Panda Company’s internal data for calendar year to date in 2026. Speed comes from AI-assisted underwriting. Every application that can't be approved automatically is reviewed by a person on our underwriting team and gets a decision the same day.

A claim comes down to two questions

When a tenant stops paying, we ask the landlord two things. Did the tenant pay rent? If not, how much didn't they pay?

The landlord sends us the rent ledger, the signed lease and their messages with the tenant. We pay claims in 3 business days. Owners can claim the full loss once it's known, or claim monthly and get a month of rent for every month the tenant stays behind. Monthly claims matter most to smaller owners, who feel a missed payment right away.

A guarantee versus a parent in another state

Most renters who can't qualify on their own fall back on a parent. I understand why. Here's how that looks from the landlord's side.

A parent costs the renter nothing, and for some renters that matters. For a landlord, the difference shows up when rent is late. If the parent lives in Idaho and says no, your next step is a lawsuit in Idaho.

Why we gave the company its own name

PandaGuarantee was our first product. It's now one of three:

• PandaGuarantee guarantees the lease. Coverage can include unpaid rent.

• PandaDeposit replaces the cash security deposit. Instead of paying a whole month's rent as a deposit before move-in, the tenant can simply pay a much smaller fee.

• PandaRenters is renters insurance. Renters get a policy covering their belongings, their living expenses, and their liability — while owners get a building full of insured residents.

We have more services in development. We needed to change the name of the company to contain the growing lines of products and services we're offering.

For property managers, that means one partner, one underwriting standard and one claims process across the lease. For renters, it means one place to qualify, cover a deposit and insure their things. PandaGuarantee is also integrated with Rent Manager, so managers can offer it inside the software they already use. Integrations with Yardi and Appfolio are in development.

If you want to talk about any of it, call us. I still pick up when I can.

Frequently asked questions

What is Panda Company?

Panda Company is the parent company name behind PandaGuarantee, PandaDeposit and PandaRenters, insurance products for residential landlords, property managers and renters. It was previously known by its product name, PandaGuarantee.

Is Panda Company a new company?

No. It's the same company entity, with the same ownership and team. Only the name and the look changed to reflect our growing ecosystem of products and services.

Who pays for PandaGuarantee?

The renter. PandaGuarantee is a surety bond that is fee-free to landlords.

How fast does PandaGuarantee approve applicants?

From January through October 2026, 42.4% of PandaGuarantee applicants were approved within 10 seconds and 85.7% within minutes, using AI-assisted underwriting. Applications that aren't approved automatically are reviewed by Panda's underwriting team and receive a decision the same day.

How fast does PandaGuarantee pay claims?

Claims to landlords are paid in 3 business days.

What's the difference between a rent guarantee and renters insurance?

A rent guarantee protects the landlord if the renter doesn't pay rent. Renters insurance protects the renter's own belongings and liability. Panda Company offers both, as PandaGuarantee and PandaRenters.

Can international students use PandaGuarantee?

Yes. Panda assesses international applicants with its own classification system, built for renters without a U.S. credit history.

Learn more at pandacompany.com.