Why We Invested: Marble
Written by Adam Blumencranz and Alex Carvalho
New Insurance Landscape, Same Unmet Need
The insurance industry is amid a digital transformation that is making insurance more accessible through a combination of innovative distribution models and improved customer experience. Although more accessibility is good, the ability to purchase insurance through several channels has left the consumer with a smorgasbord of insurance policies spread across various platforms. An auto policy purchased through a digital aggregator, homeowners policy purchased through a brick-and-mortar broker, a life insurance policy purchased directly from a carrier, and medical benefits provided by an employer — this leaves individuals scrambling to keep track of payments, changes, and rate increases. While progress has been made, insurance nirvana for the individual consumer (i.e., one hub for all your insurance needs) has proven to be elusive.
Facts:
- Auto insurance customer satisfaction with price has plummeted, driving a surge in new-policy shopping activity while also dragging on the purchase experience index.
- The largest drivers of new policy shopping for retained and switched shoppers are proactive price checking (51%) and rate increases (35%). Among those who are shopping for a new policy because of a rate hike, 64% experienced a price increase of 11% or more.
- Nearly one-third (31%) of bundlers say they “definitely will” switch their home insurer if they switch their auto insurer after an insurer-initiated auto premium increase.
- 52% of respondents aged 30 to 49 have already bought insurance online.
- 90% of customers say they are open to purchasing their auto insurance online.
- Two-thirds (65.3%) of the U.S. population ( ~215M individuals) use digital banking services today.
The problems today aren’t isolated to the consumer. Increased complexity, poor customer experience, and extreme rate variability negatively impact insurance companies through lower customer satisfaction, high acquisition costs, and increased churn. It is clear the industry needs some help.
Household’s Insurance Operating System
Enter Marble, a one-stop shop to help individuals manage their entire insurance portfolio under one roof. We at Distributed Ventures are thrilled to announce our lead investment in Marble’s $4.2 million Series Seed round. As the household’s operating system for insurance, Marble allows users to manage, shop and earn rewards on all existing insurance policies regardless of the line-of-business or carrier.
Marble’s goal is to help individuals track their policies, understand when they might see rate changes, know whether to renew or compare other options, AND facilitate the shopping. When a Marble member’s policy enters the renewal period, Marble proactively compares the in-force policy to other options in market. If savings are possible, Marble members receive a notification informing them, without having to do any work themselves. With the release of this feature, Marble has taken on one of the most time-consuming (and annoying) aspects of being a policyholder — regularly shopping for and comparing rates — so that their members don’t have to. With automated shopping, Marble members now have peace of mind that comes with knowing that they’ll always have the most cost-effective coverage on the market.
As insurtech investors, it was immediately obvious to us that this type of innovation had the potential to significantly impact more insurance consumers than any other company, startup or incumbent. Marble is led by two of the most qualified individuals, Stuart Winchester (founder/CEO) and Adi Sundar (CTO), with uniquely relevant experience. Stuart was formerly a GM of Insurance at Better.com. Adi was formerly the CTO of an insurtech company, Head of Product of a proptech company, and Product Consultant at Deloitte. Stuart believes, “consumers deserve simple, intuitive, digital tools and rewards that they can use in their daily lives to take control and save on their insurance.”
We believe Marble’s ‘first-of-its-kind’ consumer-centric approach has the potential to fundamentally change insurance industry dynamics…and consumers agree. Less than a year after launching its free mobile app, Marble now has tens of thousands of members (and counting) enjoying the latest features.
Do you have an auto or homeowners’ policy?! Go to MarblePay.com, create an account, and never shop for insurance again!
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