RHS 142 - Zach Mefferd on Becoming a Technologist and the Future of Zip Bonds

Published: May 12, 2022, 9 a.m.

b'In this episode of The Ryan Hanley Show, Zach Mefferd, co-founder of Coverage Direct and Zip Bonds, joins the podcast for a spirited discussion on what it means to transition from independent insurance agent to InsurTech technologist.\\n\\nZach is an all-time thinker in the independent insurance industry, and it is a true pleasure to have him on the show.\\n\\nEpisode Highlights:\\n\\nZach explains how hard it is to build technology and his unique perspective on building the technology for Zip Bonds . (3:58)\\n\\n\\nZach shares how he also gets frustrated with technological solutions. (7:24)\\n\\n\\nZach elaborates on the program they call Zip Score, which focuses on small contractors. (10:38)\\n\\n\\nZach explains that the agencies that have the most success with their product, allow them to be an extension of their business. (15:40)\\n\\n\\nZach shares that they intentionally hire people with underwriting experience or those with an underwriter mindset. (20:15)\\xa0\\n\\nZach talks about the building of the commercial side of the business as well as focusing on the overlooked areas in surety as their set of new features. (24:47)\\n\\n\\nZach explains that even if customers don\'t know that they need it they will eventually know somebody who will need surety. (28:36)\\n\\n\\nZach explains that carriers, larger agencies, and people that have influence in this space are starting to understand the reality of API connections. (32:16)\\n\\n\\n\\nKey Quotes:\\n\\n"People are as complicated as technology. You just have to kind of understand how to see that, hey, it\'s a broken thing, and do that in a systematic way." - Zach Mefferd\\n\\n"What I really see us able to do, and I\'m really glad that it\'s kind of morphed into this, is we want to be the division of surety for your agency. We\'re never going to compete, obviously, with P&C." - Zach Mefferd\\n\\n"I say all the time, you don\'t get it if you don\'t ask for it. All you gotta do is ask. They don\'t know that you have it and if you haven\'t asked for the opportunity, you\'re going to miss it. Someone else is going to take it." - Zach Mefferd\\n\\n\\nResources Mentioned:\\n\\n\\nZach Mefferd LinkedIn\\n\\nZip Bonds\\n\\nReach out to Ryan Hanley\\n\\n\\n\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'