Jerry sues insurify and compare.com alleging five-year trademark hijacking scheme

Mashrukh Khan: Popular auto insurance comparison app Jerry has filed a federal lawsuit against rival insurtech platforms Insurify and its wholly owned subsidiary Compare.com, accusing them of a deliberate five-year scheme to hijack its trademarks and divert online customers through paid search advertising.

Jerry Services Inc. and Jerry Insurance Agency LLC filed the complaint on April 20, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The company, which has more than five million users, claims that Insurify and Compare.com repeatedly bid on its registered and common-law trademarks as keywords on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. This practice allegedly caused consumers searching for “Jerry” to be shown misleading ads that funneled them to the competitors’ websites instead.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants bid on marks including the federally registered “JERRY” trademark as well as common-law marks such as “GETJERRY,” “JERRY.AI,” “JERRY AI,” “JERRY INSURANCE,” “DRIVESHIELD,” “ALLCAR,” “GARAGEGUARD,” and “PRICEPROTECT.” Jerry alleges that the ads were designed to confuse consumers and capitalize on its brand recognition.

The complaint further states that Jerry sent its first cease-and-desist letter on June 23, 2021. Insurify responded by claiming that bidding on competitor search terms was common practice. Three more letters followed in October 2021, July 2024, and after renewed activity in 2025. Jerry says the alleged infringing behavior would briefly stop and then restart, with fresh examples surfacing as recently as March 2026.

The filing also points to additional tactics. Insurify’s website allegedly still hosts a page titled “Jerry Review: Legit or Just a Lead Generator? (2026)” as of April 10, 2026. Compare.com ran sponsored ads using phrases such as “Jerry App,” “Jerry Ai,” “Get Jerry,” and “Jerry’s Insurance,” and maintained its own “Jerry Car Insurance Review” page that was live as recently as April 9, 2026. Side-by-side images in the complaint show Jerry ads from 2024 and 2025 next to Insurify ads from January 2026 that Jerry claims copy the look and feel of its own creative.

Jerry brings claims under the federal Lanham Act for trademark infringement and unfair competition, along with Massachusetts common law and the state’s unfair trade practices statute. The company is seeking an injunction to halt the practices, an accounting of profits, treble damages, and attorneys’ fees, arguing that the infringement was willful.

This case highlights ongoing tensions in the competitive insurtech space, where paid-search keyword bidding on competitor brand names is a common—though sometimes controversial—marketing tactic. A ruling in favor of Jerry, particularly one finding willfulness, could influence how comparison platforms buy traffic and write ad copy.