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5+ years writing insurance and personal finance topics
Auto, home, health, and life insurance expertise
Elizabeth has extensive insurance industry experience, having written for Insureon, Rate Retriever, and Insurify. She’s also finance and insurance editor for Car and Driver.
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Sara Getman is an Associate Editor at Insurify and has been with the company since 2022. Prior to joining Insurify, Sara completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at Simmons University in Boston. At Simmons, she was the Editor-in-Chief for Sidelines Magazine (a literary and art publication), and wrote creative non-fiction.
Outside of work, Sara is an avid reader, and loves rock climbing, yoga, and crocheting.
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Corporate communications director for Insurance Information Institute
20+ years in insurance and communications
As Director, Corporate Communications for Triple-I, Mark serves as the non-profit’s national spokesperson, sharing information and education on a wide array of insurance issues.
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Chartered financial analyst
12+ years in data analysis and marketing
Andrew applies his vast knowledge of analytics and insurance industry trends to help inform Insurify’s content and marketing efforts.
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At Insurify, our goal is to help customers compare insurance products and find the best policy for them. We strive to provide open, honest, and unbiased information about the insurance products and services we review. Our hard-working team of data analysts, insurance experts, insurance agents, editors and writers, has put in thousands of hours of research to create the content found on our site.
We do receive compensation when a sale or referral occurs from many of the insurance providers and marketing partners on our site. That may impact which products we display and where they appear on our site. But it does not influence our meticulously researched editorial content, what we write about, or any reviews or recommendations we may make. We do not guarantee favorable reviews or any coverage at all in exchange for compensation.
Table of contents
Today, it’s easier than ever to purchase a car insurance policy online. You don’t need to pick up the phone or walk into a local insurance agency. If you search online for car insurance, you’ll probably come across a couple of quote-comparison platforms where you can see rates from many different insurers in just a few minutes.
The Zebra is a popular quote-comparison website that has largely positive reviews, helpful agents, and partners with reputable companies. But The Zebra doesn’t offer instant, real-time quotes, and users can’t bind policies on its website.
Instead, it shows partner insurance companies and redirects shoppers to the insurer’s website, where they’ll have to re-enter all their information and may receive a different quote.
Keep reading to learn about The Zebra to figure out whether it’s a good tool for you to compare car insurance rates.
The Zebra might match users with only a couple of insurers instead of multiple.
It has 4.6 stars on Trustpilot, with mostly positive reviews highlighting The Zebra’s agents.
Users won’t find real-time quotes with The Zebra — they must finish the quote process with one of its partner insurance companies.
The Zebra at a glance
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The Zebra is an insurance quote-comparison platform that works with 100 insurance companies to provide quotes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. You can compare quotes for lots of different insurance products on The Zebra, including car insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and pet insurance.
Since its founding in 2012, The Zebra has produced more than 18 million insurance quotes.
Using The Zebra is one way to compare auto insurance quotes. But the platform has some downsides that are important to consider.
Works with 100 insurance companies
Offers quote comparisons for multiple insurance products
Could potentially help you find a cheaper insurance policy
Doesn’t offer real-time quotes
Might match you with only a few insurers
Must go back through the application to choose different coverage limits
How The Zebra works
The Zebra helps streamline the process of comparing insurers. After you fill out the online application, it matches you with a list of insurance companies that provide coverage in your area.
To start, you fill out your personal information and answer some questions about your current coverage and ZIP code.
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Then, you’ll answer questions about your vehicle, including its year, model, make, trim package, whether you own it or finance it, and how long you’ve had it.
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Next, you’ll continue answering questions about yourself, including if you want to add other drivers to your policy, if you’ve had any tickets or accidents recently, some personal information, and your credit score. You’ll also have to give your address.
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The Zebra also requires users to give an email and phone number, and it’ll send automated texts until you unsubscribe.
Finally, The Zebra creates four coverage packages you can choose from: Basic, Better, Best, and Customize it.
These packages vary in coverage levels, with Basic including liability coverage plus comprehensive and collision coverages with $1,000 deductibles. But you can customize your options in the Customize it package and decline optional coverages.
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Although the button says “Show quotes at this coverage,” The Zebra doesn’t show any quotes. Instead, it shows one of its partner insurers and the company’s highlights, discounts, add-ons, and other options. It then redirects users to the insurer’s website and states that users won’t have to re-enter their information.
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The Zebra offers only two options, and users have to scroll all the way down to view a second insurer. The second insurer has less information, but users can click “Show details” to see more information.
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Is The Zebra legit?
Yes. The Zebra is a reputable site that’s been around for more than 10 years. It’s a solid quote-comparison tool with a high score on Trustpilot and an A- rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website.[1] [2]
In its privacy statement, The Zebra says that it doesn’t sell your personal information to insurance professionals or third parties, but it will share the information with insurance professionals if you “Intend to interact with such Insurance Professionals through your use of our Service.”[3]
Despite this, some reviewers on the BBB report receiving calls from third parties after using The Zebra. You can request to remove any of your information by using the contact info in the “How To Contact Us” section on its website.
The Zebra reviews: What real customers are saying
Overall, The Zebra’s reviews are solid. Many people mention the company’s quick and easy online application, friendly customer service representatives, and an overall good experience.
But it has some negative reviews, too. Some customers said it matched them with only a few insurance companies, others complained about not being able to see quotes, and others said their quotes weren’t accurate.
Ratings
Trustpilot: 4.6 out of 5 stars
Better Business Bureau (BBB): 2.25 out of 5 stars, A- rating
Reviews
The Zebra’s positive reviews largely focused on its excellent customer service and agency team.
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The negative reviews focused on the lack of quotes from The Zebra, with many users expressing frustration over having to re-enter information on insurance company websites. Several reviews refer to The Zebra as being a “waste of time.”
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The Zebra vs. Insurify
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Insurify is a real-time quote-comparison tool that makes it easy to compare rates for many types of insurance. Insurify is a licensed insurance broker in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
While Insurify’s model is similar to The Zebra’s, they have their differences. Insurify has a network of more than 120 national and regional insurance companies, whereas The Zebra’s network has about 100 companies. Insurify also has a stronger Trustpilot review score of 4.8 out of 5, which is based on thousands more reviews.
Insurify allows you to adjust your coverage levels on a sidebar when comparing quotes so you can easily see how different policy limits will affect your rate. With The Zebra insurance, you have to go back through the application to choose a different level of coverage, so it’s not as seamless.
Insurify also shows you real-time quotes so you can purchase your policy on its website, while The Zebra navigates you to its partners’ websites to get your quote and finish buying your policy.
Feature | The Zebra | Insurify |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time quotes | No | Yes |
| Sells customer information | No | No |
| Licensed insurance agency | Yes | Yes |
| Average Trustpilot rating | 4.6 out of 5 stars | 4.8 out of 5 stars |
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How Long Does It Take to Get Car Insurance? A Consumer Guide
The Zebra FAQs
If you’re thinking about shopping for car insurance using The Zebra, consider this additional information.
The Zebra states in its privacy statement that it doesn’t sell any information to third parties or insurance professionals.
No. The Zebra doesn’t show real quotes. Instead, it shows you insurance options and redirects you to company sites to get quotes. The Zebra states that you won’t have to re-enter any information, but many reviewers on Trustpilot and the BBB claim they did have to re-enter information.
The Zebra is a solid option. The application process is simple, and you can get matched with more than 100 insurance companies, but it doesn’t give you actual quotes. The Zebra also offers quotes for a variety of insurance products, not just car insurance.
Similar to insurance agencies, The Zebra uses a commission-based business model. That means the company only makes money when a customer applies online and purchases a policy from one of its partner companies. The Zebra also makes money when a customer buys insurance from one of its licensed insurance agents after getting personalized quotes.
The Zebra is a reputable comparison platform. It has no history of scandals, financial issues, or data breaches. It advertises that it keeps your personal information safe, which is important considering you have to give them your email and phone number.
No. The Zebra states on its website that it doesn’t run your credit, but it does ask for your credit range in the quote flow.
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Sources
- Trustpilot. "The Zebra."
- The Better Business Bureau. "The Zebra."
- The Zebra. "The Zebra Privacy Policy."
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Elizabeth Rivelli is a freelance writer covering insurance and personal finance. She has extensive knowledge of various insurance lines, including property and casualty, health, and life insurance. Her byline has been featured in dozens of publications, including Investopedia, Forbes, Bankrate, NextAdvisor, and Insurance.com.
Elizabeth has been a contributor at Insurify since October 2022.
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Sara Getman is an Associate Editor at Insurify and has been with the company since 2022. Prior to joining Insurify, Sara completed her undergraduate degree in English Literature at Simmons University in Boston. At Simmons, she was the Editor-in-Chief for Sidelines Magazine (a literary and art publication), and wrote creative non-fiction.
Outside of work, Sara is an avid reader, and loves rock climbing, yoga, and crocheting.
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Corporate communications director for Insurance Information Institute
20+ years in insurance and communications
As Director, Corporate Communications for Triple-I, Mark serves as the non-profit’s national spokesperson, sharing information and education on a wide array of insurance issues.
)
Chartered financial analyst
12+ years in data analysis and marketing
Andrew applies his vast knowledge of analytics and insurance industry trends to help inform Insurify’s content and marketing efforts.
Featured in
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