GAME CHANGER

Stella Insurance GM Renee Cosgrave shows how they’re shaking up the insurance industry

Supporting women, rewarding safer drivers and changing the perception of insurance: three reasons Renee Cosgrave, general manager of Stella Insurance, is in the biz. “For the 20-plus years I’ve worked in the insurance industry, it has been very male, pale and stale,” she reveals. “I never felt that insurers genuinely talked to women and reflected women in their marketing or products, or that there has been a good representation of senior female leaders and decision-makers.”

Changing perceptions

Innovation and insurance don’t often go hand in hand, but Stella Insurance isn’t here to maintain the industry status quo.

“Women are 51 per cent of the population, and make 80 per cent of all buying decisions in the home, yet insurers barely market to women or ask us what we actually need,” says Renee. “Through research and conversation with our audience, we offer products and customer experiences to help address the needs of women drivers.”

That means redefining the quoting process to make it (a lot) faster, for starters. “We know our customers are already time poor so we don’t ask questions we don’t need to. Anyone who’s done a quote for insurance knows how long and painful the question sets can be.

“Our market-leading quick quote takes just 40 seconds to get a quote estimate and under four minutes to get a full quote. We’ve spent the past 12 months painstakingly refining our customer quote journey to put the needs of women first.”

Rewarding safer drivers

Renee and her team know that women are statistically safer drivers, which means they are confident in Stella’s policies.

“We offer a product with comprehensive features and competitive pricing, and truly reward safer drivers,” she says. “Seventy per cent of policyholders won’t get an increase come renewal time.”^

Supporting women

Renee says it best: “As a female-first brand, it’s important that there’s a better representation of women to reflect this audience. Being a woman already helps you see the needs and pain points from a female’s perspective.

“Our purpose is much bigger than just cars and profit: we want to help change the game for women, and we’re starting with insurance.”