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ZING COVER IS the leading embedded insurer for the luxury goods industry.
It provides specialist, invite-only insurance protection for the customers of its vetted network of luxury goods brands, increasing consumer confidence in the purchase and ownership of jewellery, luxury watches and a range of other passion possessions.
By working exclusively with manufacturers, authorised dealers and reputable pre-owned retailers, Zing uses its data, expertise and access to ensure its members’ insurance cover stays relevant throughout the lifecycle and that they receive superior claims experiences from the mainstream household providers.
We caught up with the company’s CEO and cofounder Rob Korzinek to learn more about how Zing Cover stands apart.
SQUARE MILE: When did you first come up with the idea for the business? Talk us through Zing Cover’s genesis…
ROB KORZINEK: There’s been a generational shift in the purchase and ownership of luxury goods, but insurance hasn’t changed with it. Mainstream insurers still expect people with valuable collections of jewellery and watches to live in a certain type of home in a certain post code and work in a certain profession.
Those assumptions are completely out of sync with who we know to be the customers of our partner retailers and brands. Zing Cover was created to make specialist insurance more accessible, more transparent and more in tune with modern owners of luxury assets.
SM: Talk us through some of the specifics that elevate Zing Cover from the competition? What does Zing Cover offer above standard household insurance?
RK: We’re fundamentally different; from our products and service to our culture. While a standard household insurance policy will probably be sufficient for your general household contents, we recognise that our members want something superior when it comes to their passion possessions, like jewellery, watches or art.
Of course, we provide broad worldwide cover with conditions that are few in number and clear in intent. And as you’d expect, we provide a fully integrated online platform where members can manage their collection quickly and intuitively.
But the real difference comes with our deep roots in the luxury goods industry. We use these connections to automatically update our members’ insured values with changes in the market and product availability throughout the ownership of their assets, and then we use this to ensure they have the very best access to the market and expertise when it comes to sourcing replacements following a claim.
Getting people excited about insurance is a struggle – and it’s amazing that we’re able to do that
SM: What were the biggest hurdles you’ve had to overcome in setting up the business four years ago?
RK: Convincing people that insurance can be different. This goes for both businesses and consumers. There is so little product differentiation when it comes to insurance that people assume it’s all the same and the only difference is price. Convincing people that product and service can and should be different was a struggle. Getting people excited about insurance is even more of a struggle – and it’s amazing that we’re able to do just that.
We also had to work with traditional underwriting capital providers to ensure we could offer our insurance products backed by the best S&P and Moody’s ratings – and we managed that, too.
SM: What’s been your biggest achievement with Zing Cover so far?
RK: The great thing about starting a new business is that almost everything seems like an achievement. Coming from being a completely unknown brand in 2022 to now working with some of the leading luxury goods businesses in the world is what I consider to be a phenomenal achievement by the team.
We were able to take a moment to reflect at this year’s Watches & Wonders in Geneva. It’s the world’s foremost luxury watch event, with lavish pavilions exhibiting the latest creations from the world’s foremost watch maisons.
Zing Cover was invited to exhibit in the Innovations Lab – and I think it’s fair to say most people were amazed to see an insurance business welcomed among such esteemed, internationally recognised brands. That felt good.
SM: What challenges do you expect your sector to face over the next few years?
RK: The whole model needs to change. New data sets need to drive more sustainable pricing and relevance of cover to people’s lifestyles. Other insurers are rowing back: limiting coverage, introducing new restrictive conditions or raising prices. This knocks consumer confidence in the purchase and ownership of luxury assets. Zing Cover is rowing against the tide.
SM: Where do you see Zing Cover in ten years’ time?
RK: If only I had a crystal ball! So much has happened for us in such a short space of time. Obviously, we want to extend our reach: we want to serve many more members and work with many more businesses around the world. We have to do so with discipline and a keen eye on our reputation. In the world of insurance there are few businesses that are genuinely admired; if we can change that then that would be a pretty good start.
SM: How did you start in the insurance industry in the first place?
RK: I never thought I’d end up in insurance. I read history at university and then worked at Sotheby’s auction house. Then a chance encounter led me into working as an underwriter of fine art and jewellery insurance. So I suppose you could say I fell into it.
SM: What’s been the toughest experience you’ve had so far in your career?
RK: I think when a lot of people think about insurance, they think it’s very scientific and calculated and almost binary in its nature. But at its core, it’s a relationship business and a market, like any other, influenced heavily by sentiment.
Sometimes that sentiment is excessively bullish and you see competitors doing things that you think you’ll never be able to, and want to, compete with. Other times, confidence just saps out of the market and you feel more like a lone voice calling for sanity. The day-to-day of running an insurance business is little different to running any business, but navigating those market vicissitudes is challenging. At Zing Cover, we are freer to set our own agenda.
We want to extend our reach: we want to serve many more members
SM: What did you learn from your time in the Lloyd’s of London market?
RK: The Lloyd’s of London market looks pretty fusty and old fashioned from the outside, and the brokers still wearing suit and tie and carrying huge piles of paper into the building every day attest to there being some truth in that image. It’s also a truly global market and one where London is still the global ‘centre of excellence’.
Being an underwriter at the heart of the international insurance industry, dealing with other insurance businesses around the world and with some of the most complex and high-value risks was constantly an education. The Lloyd’s market is seen by many as a very sociable market, sometimes too much so, but it’s built on relationships…
SM: What was your biggest success before Zing Cover?
RK: Oh, I don’t know. I think I’ve always been someone who’s shy in talking about success. I’ll just say that I’ve been very lucky… I’ve worked on some amazing deals, for and with some amazing businesses.
I’ve had the enormous privilege of working with some incredible people from around the world, many of whom have become great friends, and no matter where I’ve ended up or what I’ve ended up doing I’ve never stopped learning.
I’m still learning now, and that’s true of the whole team at Zing Cover, and is a really important part of our culture; we need to be listening and learning to continue to do what we do, and to continuously improve what we do, for the luxury businesses we work with and the members we serve.
See more at zingcover.com
