Breaking boundaries

Product Innovation

Innovating in insurance? Yes, it's possible!

Context

This is the story of how we created the first hybrid policy in the market designed to cover young drivers while learning to drive and after they pass. It's a unique proposition, designed to reduce hassle, make pricing more transparent, and offer flexibility to a notoriously underserved group.

While the product itself is innovative, what made this project stand out was the way we worked: a design sprint that blended creativity and rigour, followed by close collaboration across compliance, data, pricing, and tech to bring it to life — fast.

The challenge

Veygo was doing well at attracting learner drivers — but as soon as they passed, they left. Why? We knew they liked the product, but we weren’t retaining them. It was clear we had a gap, but the reasons weren’t fully understood.

We set out to explore this challenge from a user-centred perspective, bringing together insight, strategy, and cross-functional collaboration to rethink the experience for young drivers.

Team

Service/Product Designer (me), 1 Product Manager, 1Go to Market Strategist, 4 Devs, 1 QA, 1 Scrum Master. Support: Compliance, Data & Pricing

My role

Service/Product Designer: I was involved in creating the proposition from greenfield and delivering the end-to-end experience.

Period

O 2022 - A 202
Veygo, Admiral Pioneer

Discovery & Define

We kicked off in October 2024 with a six-week design sprint. It was an intense and energising process — probably the most collaborative I’ve experienced at Veygo. I worked closely with our Head of Service Design to shape and facilitate the sprint, while also leading all user research and presenting weekly updates to leadership.

Key Activities

Reviewing existing research and internal data on learner drivers and first-year drivers (new drivers).
Interviewing 16 customers, including learners, newly passed drivers, and parents, to understand behaviours and needs.
Running quick 1 question surveys throughout the sprint to validate assumptions, reaching ~3000 customers.
Ideating and testing 4 concepts using storyboards and low fidelity prototypes in remote research sessions with 15 users.
Facilitated cross-functional workshop with Tech, Growth, Pricing, and Compliance to refine ideas and evaluate feasibility
Narrowed down to 2 viable ideas, evaluated their potential impact, and aligned on a clear direction

Throughout, I presented regularly to our CEO, CPO, and CTO — sharing findings, walking through customer stories, and defending ideas under pressure. These sessions were challenging but also deeply rewarding, and I’ve grown more confident navigating leadership conversations.

Develop & Deliver

The sprint gave us a clear direction: a hybrid insurance product that learners could keep using after they passed — with pricing transparency upfront, automatic discounts, and a smoother transition to full driving freedom.

We formed a delivery squad: 4 Developers, 1 QA, 1 Product Manager, 1 Scrum Master, Me (Service & Product Designer).

From day one, we worked closely with Compliance, Pricing, and Tech to untangle complexity and build something that had never been done before — all while keeping the user experience front and centre.

My contributions:

Led end-to-end UX design, from quote journeys to post-purchase comms (emails, SMS, etc.)
Created and tested prototypes — both in Maze and moderated sessions — to refine the experience and ensure clarity around the offer.
Ran user testing with prospects unfamiliar with subscription insurance, ensuring messaging and UX worked for first-time users.
Worked with Growth to co-create CMS content, banners, and A/B test campaigns f personas.

Outcomes & Impact

Veygo Learner + New Driver cover was launched in mid-April, a full month ahead of roadmap. The response has been strong — both from customers and internally:

~50%

opt-in rate among eligible learners

85%

positive feedback in early customer loops

+30%

higher conversion than last product launch

My Learnings

This project allowed me to keep deepening my expertise in product innovation, going from the creation of an new idea to its delivery.

Full-Stack Designer

During the design sprint, I leaned into a service design mindset — research-heavy, systems-thinking, and facilitative. But once in delivery, I switched gears and took ownership as a product designer — hands-on with UX, testing, and content.

Innovation is a team sport

You can’t build something this new in isolation — it takes belief, challenge, and shared ownership. Without the support from compliance and pricing this project wasn't viable.

Gaining confidence

Being able to explain user needs in a way that resonates with leadership and commercial goals was key to get their support and sponsorship. We had challenging sessions but it helped me gain confidence presenting to senior stakeholders.