Hundreds of millions of Americans have some sort of insurance policy whether life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, pet insurance, business insurance, etc. However, there isn’t a centralized resource for managing all these policies. Marble is a digital wallet and hub that centralizes all your policies in one place and optimizes the value of insurance using automation. Members are alerted of any changes to rates that may impact their policies and automatically provides comparison shopping for policies that are in their renewal period so that users can make an informed decision based on similar coverage. The platform is free to use and Marble receives a commission from policy providers if a customer switches policies to a new carrier. The company also offers a rewards program that allows users to earn gift cards for taking specific insurance-related actions.
AlleyWatch caught up with Marble CEO and Founder Stuart Winchester to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the company’s total funding raised to $6.7M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
In this seed plus round, we raised $4.2M. The round was led by Distributed Ventures, with participation from new investors Blue Collective, Goodwater Capital, and CE Innovation Capital; existing investors IA Capital Group, MS&AD Ventures, and Reciprocal Ventures; and veteran angel investors from across the finance and insurance industry.
Tell us about the product or service that Marble offers.
Marble constantly optimizes all of your insurance.
We’ve built a central hub that monitors and optimizes the value of your insurance. We help our members keep their insurance prices low, without trading off on coverage and without taking up much of their time.
For example, our Rate Watch program automatically alerts users about any rate changes filed by major insurance companies that might impact their insurance rates. If a Marble member’s auto insurance provider files for a rate change that would impact an active policy held by that member, they would then receive a notification from Marble. No other platform allows individuals to track and prepare for rate changes in this way.
On top of that, we recently launched automated shopping for eligible members, with the goal of helping our members easily understand whether it’s in their best interest to renew or switch insurance providers once they enter the policy renewal period. To answer that question, Marble works with their partners to compare existing policy pricing and see if Marble members might be able to save money by switching providers. Our members then receive a notification informing them of possible savings, without having to do any work themselves.
At Marble, our goal is to build a product that saves our users time and money by automating insurance shopping and optimizing coverage.
What inspired the start of Marble?
I spent a few years building an insurance team and product within Better.com. This was a fantastic experience, and it gave me the opportunity to talk to hundreds of insurance customers.
After leaving Better, I thought about the customers I talked to and recalled how many of them had no convenient or empowering way to actually manage their risk day-to-day. Instead, they were just being bombarded with hundreds of offers to buy more insurance — but that’s where the discussion ended.
This got me thinking about how we could put Americans in control of their insurance, give them time back, and make sure they’re not spending more than they have to — all while getting the coverage they need to protect what they love.
How is Marble different?
Marble is the first product on the market to proactively monitor our members’ insurance policies for potential rate increases. We also are the only company to automatically shop for our users once their policy enters the renewal period.
On top of that, we offer a centralized account for our members to link all of their insurance policies, no matter what type or what carrier. Marble members have likened it to Mint, but for their insurance.
Finally, we’re the first and only rewards program for insurance. Agnostic of provider, all Marble members can earn real money (in the form of gift cards) just for having insurance and engaging with it on a regular basis.
What market does Marble target and how big is it?
Marble is perfect for the 92% of Americans who are insurance customers and want support in dealing with their insurance policies and insurance companies.
What’s your business model?
We make money when our members choose to shop with us.
Anyone can create an account and use Marble for free — and once they do, we offer our members the ability to seamlessly and effortlessly find a lower rate. They can tap, switch, and cancel their old insurance in just minutes, and we then earn a commission or referral fee when they start that new insurance policy.
Additionally, we help fund our rewards program by licensing our award-winning technology and design to larger financial institutions and insurance companies.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
With our recent fundraise, we are very well capitalized. We continue to operate with a lean, highly skilled team, which enables us to keep fixed costs low. We are very well-positioned to operate through challenging conditions.
What was the funding process like?
Compared to the last time we raised, this was a much quicker and more streamlined process. Our product is working, our market is defined (but massive), and our technology is a year or two ahead of where other insurance shopping websites are.
We were able to pick up relationships with investors from last year, refamiliarize them with Marble, and quickly close a round of financing with the strategic lead we wanted.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
While it was quicker, the fundraising process is still time-consuming, and it distracts from other priorities. Being pulled away from core operations and product work during a fundraise can feel pretty frustrating at times.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Marble is able to acquire users at less than 1% of the traditional cost of insurance companies, and then keep those members engaged monthly. This is a game-changer for insurance, and it excited a lot of investors.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We aim to pass a quarter million users and distribute more than $30,000 worth of rewards a month.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Candidly, I like to avoid giving advice. If you don’t have a fresh injection of capital right now, you are probably getting nudged to death by existing investors and partners. You don’t need some random person reminding you of that. It’s hard out there. So instead, go outside when the weather is nice!
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’ll continue to rapidly grow, execute on our roadmap of people-first insurance features, and add a few select roles to our team.
What’s your favorite coffee shop or location in the city to hold a meeting?
Plowshare coffee on the UWS.
