Dan Schrieber: Cutting Edge Insurance
Daniel Schreiber is the CEO and Chairman of Lemonade, a trailblazing insurance company he co-founded in 2015 alongside Shai Wininger, the founder of the freelancing platform Fiverr, and Ty Sagalow, a seasoned executive with a 25-year career at AIG, where he served as Chief Innovation Officer at Zurich North America.
A New Kind of Insurance Company
Daniel and his co-founders aimed to transform the insurance industry by building a company from the ground up, leveraging a sophisticated business model and cutting-edge technology, including automation and machine learning. In an open letter to potential investors, Schreiber and Wininger emphasised that this approach would "enjoy structural advantages that will manifest ever more powerfully over time."
"We want Lemonade to become the iconic insurance brand of the 21st century," Daniel said during an appearance on the Paper Bag Investor podcast. He also believes in the importance of storytelling in leadership, saying: "The number one job of a CEO or an entrepreneur or founder is storytelling... If you don’t have clarity of purpose of where you want to get to, nobody’s going to get there."
He describes his leadership style as trusting and non-micromanaging, focusing on surrounding himself with experts who excel in their roles. Daniel sees himself as a "conductor," providing direction and ensuring harmony within the team, rather than a traditional manager or micromanager. He stresses the importance of collaboration and being a "thought partner" while respecting the expertise of his team members.
Commitment to Climate Change
Daniel is deeply committed to addressing climate change, both as an insurer and as a concerned global citizen. Lemonade made history in 2019 by becoming the first (and still the only) American insurance company to commit to not investing in polluting industries. "Insurance companies enable polluting industries in a pretty shocking way... We are concerned about it, and we are taking steps... We take it pretty seriously," Daniel shared.
Lemonade supports various environmental initiatives, including partnerships with organisations like 350.org, and offsets emissions by planting trees to match the pollution caused by customers' vehicles.
Expansion into the UK Market
Lemonade recently launched its Buildings and Contents insurance in the UK, in partnership with Aviva, offering a fully digital solution. This new product allows UK homeowners to access instant coverage through the Lemonade app or online, with prices starting at just £14 a month. The insurance offers comprehensive coverage, including rebuild costs, temporary accommodation, and flexible contents protection up to £100,000. Add-ons such as home emergency assistance, accidental damage, and legal protection are also available. The UK market has rapidly become one of Lemonade's fastest-growing regions.
Technology and Growth
In an interview with Motley Fool, Daniel highlighted the power of technology in the insurance sector. "Technology has an unusual ability to lower costs while improving the product," he said, adding that Lemonade aims to excel in automation, brand loyalty, customer satisfaction and risk pricing by building on its digital foundation.
In a recent discussion with Yahoo Finance, Daniel also expressed optimism about the company's future. "We're coming off of perhaps our best quarter ever. Revenue is up by a third, gross profit up threefold, and losses have halved. We’ve really seen dramatic progress." He also affirmed Lemonade's goal of becoming cash flow positive next year and EBITDA positive the following year, though he acknowledged the need to navigate further growth challenges before fully turning these corners.
"Insurance as a sector has suffered terribly in the last couple of years largely because of inflation," Daniel said, "but at last, we're seeing inflation come down and rates go up, and that's fabulous news for Lemonade and our shareholders."
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