Metromile, a pay-per-mile auto insurance provider in the US, announced yesterday that it has raised US$191.5 million in funding—the company added that it would use the money to purchase insurance carrier Mosaic Insurance to help handle the underwriting of Metromile’s policies and expand the business to other parts of the US.
One of the many notable investors behind Metromile’s considerable funding is Canada’s
Intact Financial.
“Our goal, in partnering with Metromile, was to build a relationship that would allow both organizations to strengthen their core competencies in order to enhance the customer experience,” said Intact Financial Corporation Senior Vice-President, International & Ventures Karim Hirji in a statement. “We look forward to this ongoing collaboration as Metromile redefines the marketplace with its unique business model, innovations and smart technology offerings.”
Metromile CEO Dan Preston told
TechCrunch that the funding was actually the result of three rounds of investment: a Series D funding of US$103.1 million, a strategic investment of US$50 million from China Pacific Insurance, and a previously-undisclosed Series C financing from late 2014 of US$38.4 million.
Although Metromile has acquired licenses to operate in all 50 US states, it currently only underwrites policies in four—New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia. With the funding, the company can now expand its underwriting to California, Illinois and Washington.
“We will start accelerating our state roll out at the beginning of 2017,” Preston remarked. “For the time being, our focus is on the huge opportunity for per-mile insurance in the US but we’re excited about exploring global opportunities with partners in the future.”
While Metromile typically sells its insurance directly to customers, it struck a deal in 2015 with ridesharing company Uber to provide the latter’s drivers with insurance coverage for times when they do not have a passenger.
Preston underlined that while Metromile’s underwriting will change as a result of the Mosaic acquisition, it will not affect Uber drivers “for the time being.”
“We are focused on moving our personal business over first,” he explained. “The new claims experience is currently only available for Metromile’s personal policies. Uber driver-partner policies will continue to be underwritten by insurers in the National General Insurance Group and their coverage will not be compromised in any way.”
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