Every insurer profits when they deny you. We took that off the table.
Zestly keeps a flat fee. The rest of your premium is set aside to pay claims, and whatever’s left at the end of the year goes to a cause you chose — not into our pocket. That’s Giveback, and it’s the whole business model.
Where your premium actually goes
Three destinations, fixed at the start of the year. Hover any row to pull its slice out of the pie.
- 25%
A flat fee to run everything
We take a fixed cut for salaries, servers, and keeping the lights on. It never grows just because you didn't claim.
- 60%
We pay claims, fast
The bulk of your premium is set aside to pay claims — yours and everyone else's in your group. Turning you down never makes us richer.
- 15%
Giveback to causes you pick
Good luck and good behavior leave money unspent at the end of the year. It goes to the cause you chose when you signed up — not to us.
How a Giveback year runs
One cycle, from the day you sign up to the day the money leaves.
When you join
You pick a cause
One choice, from a list of categories. It takes about four seconds and you can change it whenever you like.
All year
Your premium joins a pool
Everyone who picked the same cause is grouped together. Claims from that group are paid out of that group's pool.
Year end
We count what's left
After claims and reinsurance, whatever the pool didn't need is counted up. Our flat fee was taken at the start, not from this.
Each February
It goes to the cause
The leftover is donated in your group's name and published in an annual report. None of it comes back to Zestly.
An illustrative walkthrough written for this build. Timings are not a service guarantee, and complex claims still go to a person.
Causes you can pick
Pick one when you sign up, change it whenever you want. Your choice groups you with everyone who picked the same thing.
Climate and clean energy
Reforestation, grid transition, and emissions research
Animal welfare
Shelters, rescue networks, and veterinary access
Housing and homelessness
Emergency shelter and eviction prevention
Education access
Scholarships, tutoring, and school supplies
Food security
Food banks and community kitchens
Mental health
Crisis lines and access to affordable therapy
Disaster relief
Rapid response after fires, floods, and storms
Civil rights
Legal aid and community advocacy
Cause categories are illustrative placeholders for this build. Zestly is a fictional brand and has no charitable partners.
Giveback questions, answered
So the leftover money doesn't come back to me?
No, and that's deliberate. If unclaimed premium were refundable to individuals it would legally be a savings product rather than insurance, which changes how it's regulated and taxed. Giveback sends it to the cause instead — you get the choice of where, not the cash.
What stops you from just taking a bigger flat fee?
The fee is set at the start of the year and published. It doesn't move based on how many claims we pay, which is the entire point — a carrier whose profit is 'premiums minus claims' has a reason to deny you, and we removed that reason rather than promising to resist it.
What if my group claims more than it paid in?
Then there's no Giveback that year, and our reinsurers cover the shortfall. That's what reinsurance is for. Your claims are paid either way — a bad year for the pool is never a reason to turn down a valid claim.
Can I see where the money actually went?
That's what the annual Giveback report is for. It breaks down the amount by cause and by group, and it's published rather than sent on request.
Does picking a cause change my price?
Not at all. Pricing is based on what you're insuring and your risk, exactly as it would be otherwise. The cause only decides where an unspent surplus goes.
Insurance that has no reason to fight you
Five products, prices from $5 a month, and a flat fee that doesn’t grow when your claim gets denied.