Mercury Insurance Invests in a New Vision of Data Science with the Appointment of Chief Data Analytics Officer

Simon Zhang will spearhead effort to unlock Mercury's deep data and analytics resources to fuel the company's innovation efforts and improve customer experiences

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY), a leading provider of property and casualty insurance, has appointed Simon Zhang to the newly-created position of Chief Data and Analytics Officer. The hire continues Mercury's ongoing effort to utilize advanced data analytics to drive business growth, elevate the carrier's product offerings, and better meet the needs of its policyholders. 

"This newly created position is the latest in a series of investments Mercury is making to reimagine how we use data and unlock the power of our deep data resources," said Victor Joseph, President & COO of Mercury Insurance. "Combining our proprietary data with the kinds of new data technologies that are being developed everyday will help Mercury become an innovative market leader." 

As Chief Data Analytics Officer, Mr. Zhang's leadership will add value to virtually every element of the Mercury data science landscape – from predictive analytics and data science, infrastructure and architecture, to data security and compliance. 

Mr. Zhang's mission will be to harness Mercury's 60-plus years of valuable data and build systems and processes within the organization to better inform the way the company does business. As this data becomes more available across Mercury's teams, the company will discover better and more efficient ways of doing business. This new position reinforces Mercury's commitment to seeking out better and more innovative ways to utilize its data assets. It will help the company transform to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers and will provide an important foundation for future success.

"Data is only valuable if it's accessible and relevant. The aim of my team will be to map our data and present it in a way that can be of use to all members of the Mercury team – from product planning and customer service to human capital, marketing and underwriting," said Mr. Zhang. 

Before joining Mercury, Mr. Zhang served as Chief Data Scientist at GrowingIO, a company he co-founded. Prior to that, he held a leadership role at LinkedIn, where he served as senior director of business analytics. Interestingly, Mr. Zhang's career journey began in the medical field, where he achieved success as a neurosurgeon performing more than 300 surgeries.

About Mercury Insurance

Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY) is a multiple-line insurance carrier predominantly offering personal auto, homeowners and renters insurance through a network of independent agents in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, as well as auto insurance in Florida. Mercury writes other lines of insurance in various states, including commercial, business owners and business auto, landlord, home-sharing, ride-hailing and mechanical protection insurance.

Since 1962, Mercury has provided customers with tremendous value for their insurance dollar by pairing ultracompetitive rates with excellent customer service. Mercury has earned "A" ratings from A.M. Best and Fitch, as well as "Best Auto Insurance Company" designations from Forbes and Insure.com. For more information visit www.MercuryInsurance.com or follow the company on Twitter or Facebook.

SOURCE Mercury Insurance