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Shopping for car insurance is no one's favorite way to spend their time, but we all want the best rates possible. The Zebra offers a simple (and free) way to shop for car, home, renters, or life insurance in one place. It's essentially a search engine to find personalized insurance quotes, shopping over 100 insurance companies using your criteria to match you with potential offers that best meet your needs. You might see insurers such as Progressive, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and more. If you don't mind providing some personal information, I'd recommend The Zebra to just about anyone.
Using The Zebra is a little like getting an online quote from an individual auto insurance company, except that you'll end up with several options and don't know which companies you'll see. The process can be just a little tedious because you'll need to first enter your information with The Zebra before then providing it to the insurance company you're interested in, but this is a pretty minor inconvenience for the benefit of comparing prices more easily.
How we evaluate products
FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as Insurify, J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.
The Zebra pros and cons
- Allows you to get quotes for customized coverage options
- Excellent customer service
- You must still provide the insurance company with the information you give Zebra
- Doesn't have available matches for all locations, cars, or customers
- Your quote may increase after going directly to the insurance company
How much does The Zebra cost?
The Zebra is entirely free to use. It makes money through its insurance agents and commissions when it refers users to insurance companies.
It's important to keep in mind that The Zebra isn't itself an insurer. It doesn't issue policies, and you're not paying The Zebra if you decide to purchase coverage from a company you find through its platform. You can get policies through its site or visit an insurer directly, but you're buying insurance from another company.
All this said, the rates you see when using The Zebra can vary widely, and you might see different quotes from insurers than you do from The Zebra. This is common but important to keep in mind.
| Driver type | National average liability-only monthly premium | National average full coverage monthly premium |
| Clean driving record | $105 | $192 |
| Speeding ticket on driving record | $141 | $265 |
| At-fault accident on driving record | $146 | $274 |
| DUI on driving record | $166 | $313 |
| Teen driver | $194 | $364 |
| Senior driver | $85 | $160 |
| Data sourced from Insurify | ||
Pro tip
According to The Zebra, people can save an average of $922 on combined home and car insurance when they use its platform. So if you want to do better than just saving on car insurance, consider using the tool to search for home insurance too.How The Zebra works
The Zebra has provided over 18 million quotes to consumers since its launch in 2012 to help people find the best match. It offers its services at no cost to customers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
To get insurance quotes from The Zebra, you need to provide some information just like you would to get a quote from a single insurer. All told, filling out the form took me about five minutes.
After selecting the type of insurance you need, such as auto insurance, you'll enter your ZIP code and answer the following questions in order:
- Whether you have car insurance now
- Whether you own or rent your home
- When you plan to purchase your new insurance policy
- Where you park your car overnight
- Full name and date of birth
- The year, make, model, and trim of your vehicle
- Other vehicles you want to add to the policy (up to four)
- Whether you own or lease the vehicle
- How you use your vehicle
- Number of miles you drive per day, week, month, or year
- Length of time you've owned the vehicle
- Gender
- Marital status
- Estimated credit score
- Highest level of education you've completed
- How old you were when you got your license
- Current car insurance company
- How long you've been with your current insurer
- Your bodily injury coverage
- Accidents or tickets you've had in the past three years
- Email and phone number
- Military status
- Spouse's information
Next, the tool will ask you to choose a coverage package, with the options being Minimum, Better, Best, and Customize it. It'll also recommend one of these for you, but it seems to me like this is mainly just based on your current coverage.
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I chose Minimum. Then, the tool works its magic (i.e., runs its algorithm) to provide personalized quotes.
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From there, you can click Show details without leaving the site. I received seven quotes in total.
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You can also click "View deal" to get a more accurate quote from the company. You'll be directed off the page and probably need to re-fill out some of your information.
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Editor's note
Using The Zebra to compare quotes won't affect or hurt your credit score. The company won't even pull your credit. But if you apply for insurance, the company you choose will check your score.
Get rewarded with savings for having a clean driving record.
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Drivers who switch their auto insurance and save with State Farm save $764 on average!
The Zebra vs. competitors
The Zebra is far from the only car insurance comparison site. Other options include Insurify, Gabi, Simplfii, Jerry, and so many others. The Zebra works with more insurers than many other options, but some marketplace sites provide more quotes to individual customers.
Most tools like this are going to be free to use, and the prices you see depend on which insurance companies you're matched with and your coverage needs.
The Zebra vs. Insurify
Both The Zebra and Insurify work with over 100 insurance companies, so there's sure to be some overlap between the insurers you might see if you collect quotes from either. That said, Insurify has a very slightly higher Trustpilot rating on thousands more reviews than The Zebra, so it's possible that the former has happier customers.
You lose nothing except a few minutes by taking both options for a spin, though, and this is what I'll do the next time I compare policies.
Average rate:
The Zebra vs. Gabi
Gabi is a marketplace site operated by Experian, and it stands out from other car insurance comparison tools for providing more quotes at once. It works with far fewer companies (around 40), so there's going to be less variability in what you see versus what someone else might see. But this might not matter if you would prefer to see more quotes at the end of the process.
What customers are saying
Company ratings:
- BBB: A-
- Trustpilot: 4.6/5 stars.
The Zebra has an excellent Trustpilot rating for an insurance marketplace like this, with many reviewers reflecting favorably on their experiences talking with licensed agents. Good customer service is an important component that some comparison sites don't do as well; you should be able to talk to a real person, not just get quotes.
However, being reachable is also a common complaint. Any time you give your phone number and personal information to a company like this, you're going to be contacted by companies and agents asking about your coverage needs. You can expect this from any marketplace, but it doesn't mean The Zebra is selling your information to third parties (it isn't). Some disgruntled customers have a problem with this business model, which is valid. But know that you can request to have your data removed from The Zebra to escape this.
With the BBB, The Zebra has an A- with 12 complaints filed against it. When I looked at these, though, I could see that the company responded to each one in a timely manner (often within a day). Some of the responses felt a little canned or generic to me, but it's also true that some complaints aren't really fair. For example, one customer complained about their policy itself.
FAQs
How do I contact The Zebra?
The Zebra offers several options for customers to get in touch, including an email address, phone number, and social media handles. You can call 866-217-6057 to speak with a licensed agent and ask about specific policies or get tips for lowering your car insurance.
Note that these agents aren't affiliated with any specific companies, so they don't have an incentive to push you into a certain policy.
Is The Zebra legit?
The Zebra has been around since 2012, and it has an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It has provided more than 18 million quotes since its founding. The company is legitimate and provides one of the best insurance comparison tools out there. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and it offers several options for customers to get in touch, including an email address, phone number, and social media handles.
Which insurance companies does The Zebra work with?
According to The Zebra, it works with more than 100 insurance companies to provide quotes. Because insurance companies are regulated on a state basis, quotes from some insurers may not be available in your state.
Some of the more well-known companies The Zebra partners with include Progressive, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Allstate, State Farm, GEICO, The General, and more. As you go through the quote process, you'll be able to view which insurers are in your area.
Bottom line
The Zebra is a legitimate auto insurance marketplace site you can use to compare quotes from many of the best car insurance companies in one place. It has its limitations, and you won't see customized quotes from every company or more than a handful. But it's a good place to start your search if you have about five minutes to spare, and I found the tool to be easy to use and helpful.
Average rate:
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