Metromile, a pioneer in pay-per-mile car insurance in the United States, announced that Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) has made a strategic investment in Metromile.
IFC is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada. The venture is in line with IFC’s long-term strategy to invest and partner with emerging and innovative businesses.
"Metromile is redefining the marketplace with its unique business model, innovations and smart technology offerings," said Karim Hirji, Senior Vice-President, International & Ventures, Intact Financial Corporation. "This venture represents an exciting opportunity for Intact Financial to expand its core competencies which will ultimately enhance the customer experience."
Metromile offers customers a pay-per-mile insurance option that saves low-mileage customers $500 on average each year. With 95 million low mileage drivers in the United States the company has an addressable market of more than $70 billion.
"At Metromile, we work to make owning a car easy and affordable for drivers," said Dan Preston, CEO at Metromile. "In 2015, pay-per-mile insurance saved our customers an average of $500 per year, and the Metromile app helped customers diagnose their car issues, avoid thousands of parking tickets, and more.
"We are excited to partner with Intact Financial, who shares similar values in transparency, customer experience, and a technology-driven approach to insurance."
Metromile currently offers pay-per-mile insurance in seven states including California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Availability in these seven states means that 30 percent of drivers in the United States can now get car insurance coverage through Metromile.
Metromile also launched an innovative partnership with Uber earlier this year in California, Illinois and Washington and debuted an updated smart driving app experience including a new look and feel as well as data about trips, street sweeping alerts (in select cities), and parked location.
Since Metromile launched in 2011, the company has grown from a small team to more than 150 strong with headquarters in San Francisco and offices in Tempe, Ariz. and Boston. In the last few months, the company has also focused on growing its executive team, which included hiring Chief Financial Officer Joe Selsavage, Chief Marketing Officer James Moorhead and General Counsel John Orta as well as promoting former Vice President of Engineering, Jose Mercado, to Chief Technology Officer.
Policies are sold through Metromile Insurance Services LLC (the Managing General Agent for insurance policies) and are written by insurers in the National General Insurance Group.