Reflecting on Purpose, Progress, and What’s Next with Hi Marley CEO Mike Greene

When Hi Marley CEO and Co-Founder Mike Greene was 12-years-old, he spotted a lawn mower for sale on the side of the road for $20. He was cautioned that the lawn mower only worked by pulling it backwards, but he had a vision. His mother graciously loaned him an advance to purchase the lawn mower, and after mowing four lawns, he repaid her in full and started his first business mowing neighbors’ lawns by walking backwards.

And that experience sparked Mike’s entrepreneurial spirit that has led to building successful companies, including Hi Marley.

As Hi Marley approaches its ninth anniversary, Chief Growth Officer Dan Keenan sat down with Mike Greene for a conversation about the company’s purpose, progress and what’s next.

Why Insurance?

While consulting after college, Mike saw first-hand the purpose of insurance.

“I went down to New Orleans and saw the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,” said Mike. “Insurance often gets a bad reputation, but I was moved by all of the mission-driven insurance professionals I met. They were all helping people through the hurricane and doing what they could to assist them so they could recover and get back on their feet.”

That experience inspired Mike to learn more about the industry’s history. He cited how the Amicable Society started life insurance in the early 1700s because, if a breadwinner died, the rest of the family would go into poverty due to the lack of a safety net.

Mike also mentioned Hi Marley customer, the Philadelphia Contributionship, which formed in 1752 when houses in urban Philadelphia were made of wood and fire was used for heat, a dangerous combination. “The fire departments could not handle all of the damage, resulting in people constantly losing their homes and livelihoods,” said Mike. “They created the first mutual insurance fund, which brought people together and pooled resources to help rebuild homes, with less risk. Then, they started raising building standards to prevent more fires.”

Another example Mike referenced: twenty-five people from the Army couldn’t get auto insurance because their lifestyle was deemed “too risky.”

“These people who are protecting our country, but we can’t protect them?,” said Mike. “They put their money together and formed a member-owned association to insure each other—an organization we know today as USAA.”

He continued, “Insurance was born from Ubuntu, the belief that true success is being part of a purpose much bigger than any single individual. Insurance is about putting a cause or mission before oneself and coming together around that. And that’s the most inspiring thing about this industry.”

Why Hi Marley?

Leading up to the founding of Hi Marley, Mike endured two intimate insurance experiences that left lifelong impressions: one on the life insurance side and one on the auto insurance side.

“I came out of those experiences with this purpose, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” said Mike. “I saw the potential in this industry. After going through these experiences with insurance through a policyholder’s lens, I saw the opportunity to bring people around this movement, to make insurance lovable again.”

“Seven years ago, I met Mike,” said Dan Keenan. “I’ve been conservative in my career; I was at one company for over 25 years. But when I came to Boston and met with Mike, I was immediately inspired by everything he talked about: that this is a mission-driven company and that we have a higher purpose. And that’s what brought me in. Mike has done an incredible job building the company, culture and future that we believe in and excites us.”

Why is Now a Pivotal Moment for the Industry?

The insurance industry is at an inflection point with Artificial Intelligence, a technology that’s turbo-charging transformation.

“In 2017, we started Hi Marley and bought the ‘marley.ai’ domain,” said Mike. “We had this view on how AI could play a role, but the technology wasn’t quite there yet. It wasn’t the right time. Fast forward to now, we’re in a pivotal moment with AI.”

Mike continued, “Team X effort X market pull is the equation. We have an amazing team, we put in amazing effort, and the market pull is a 10 out of 10. We’re seeing insurance CEOs wanting to use AI beyond claims, and we’re so uniquely positioned to help support that; it’s really exciting.”

Why is Hi Marley Uniquely Positioned to Support AI-Driven Innovation?

According to Mike, Hi Marley is uniquely positioned to support carriers with AI-driven transformation because the company has earned its customers’ trust.

“Starting with trust is most important,” said Mike. “Our customers trust us, and that’s a testament to our people. Every touch point: every email, every support request, every bug fix, it all adds up. We’re consistent, we show up for our customers and demonstrate that we truly care. We’ve proven ourselves in claims and messaging, and so carriers want to do more with us, and that’s an amazing opportunity. Our job is to help carriers show up better for policyholders when it matters most. We think big, and we think long-term. Some of our customers have been around for 250 years already, and they deserve a partner that’s going to be beside them for the next 250 years.”

He continued, “We aren’t just a technology platform. Technology is the communication fabric for insurance, and our people are the fabric for insurance that’s bringing it all together. The future is bright, and I’m grateful for our people and our customers for trusting us and being a part of this journey.”