The Zebra leverages data to personalize the insurance shopping experience

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Consumers historically have had difficulty when it comes to buying insurance: it’s hard to understand and compare offers, repeatedly entering the same information is exhausting, and options from aggregate sites only show a small fraction of the market.

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Built as a solution to simplify and streamline the insurance shopping experience in 2013, The Zebra,  helmed by CEO Keith Melnick, has become a titan in the insurance industry. The company is  focused on matching customers with the best policy options for the best value in a matter of minutes..

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Martina Hahn, Chief Product Officer at The Zebra says that innovation in a staid market is at the core of what the company does:

“The Zebra created the insurance comparison shopping experience with rates, which is innovation in itself. Part of innovation is really understanding what the consumer’s unmet needs are. We've got multiple teams that really push the boundaries on our digital experience, to make sure we deliver value for our consumers every day. We help consumers understand the value that each of our incredible partners offers and which option one is the best fit for their needs. By coming to us for that best solution, we’ve eliminated the need to spend hours creating spreadsheets or on the phone saving shoppers both time and money. We're really focused on building an end to end online insurance experience, where they can both purchase and manage their insurance throughout their lifetime.”

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Meetesh Karia, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Officer at The Zebra says that the old way of working may have generated revenue for insurance companies but didn’t serve the needs of the consumer. By changing the model, products become more meaningful:

“Historically, a lot of the insurance comparison space has been about high volume, low value. We're trying to disrupt the low value aggregation and instead focus more on providing advice. We use data to help consumers get the coverage they need and solve their problems. There's so much data in the space, our value is in figuring out how to use that data to personalize the experience for consumers and to make sure they're getting the education and the coverage they need.”

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Jessica Scelzi, Chief Commercial Officer at The Zebra, is keen to emphasize that the technology is only the starting point; there is a further layer of licensed insurance agents who are able to use data-driven insights to help customers make what can be a complex decision:

“Our agency is on the other end of the phone to speak to a customer about their insurance needs. Which, I think, is very much appreciated by the carrier partners, and a huge value add for us on the customer side. It validates that The Zebra's built a best in class digital experience to understand,buy, and simplify the shopping experience. But we also have agents to explain the complexities, because we recognize insurance is not an easy product to understand.”

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Scelzi says that The Zebra has struck a great balance of combining a human and digital experience to create a people-centered business that has reduced staff turnover and enabled people to grow their career. Karia iterates The Zebra has “a culture of collaboration and of mutual respect. I think we're lucky in tech to be able to work at a place where I can challenge the people that work for me and they can challenge me.”

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Melnick adds that The Zebra’s culture is a strength, and is keen to preserve that through difficult circumstances:

“At the beginning of the pandemic, The Zebra was really successful, but the key now is propagating that culture with an employee count that doubled over a year and while we aren't in the office. A lot of people have never met in person or been into the office. I don't care where employees are to do their work, as long as they can get their job done as efficiently as possible and still bring that sense of community.“

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Keeping in touch with the human side is, Keith says, essential:

“The Zebra exists because shopping for insurance is really hard, but it’s also really important for a consumer. While consumers don't like to do it, it's a necessary thing and if they do it poorly, they can either not have their assets protected or they can overpay for what they're getting. That’s why we’re here, to advise consumers on the best policies for their unique needs.”