Intact Financial Corporation announces strategic investment in Metromile

Canada’s largest provider of P&C insurance – Intact Financial Corporation (IFC) – announced on Tuesday that it has made a “strategic investment” in Metromile – a provider of pay-per-mile car insurance in the United States.

Details of the strategic investment were limited, but “the venture is in line with IFC’s long-term strategy to invest and partner with emerging and innovative businesses,” Metromile said in a press release. “We are excited to partner with Intact Financial, who shares similar values in transparency, customer experience and a technology-driven approach to insurance,” added Dan Preston, CEO at Metromile, in the release.

“Metromile is redefining the marketplace with its unique business model, innovations and smart technology offerings,” said Karim Hirji, senior vice president, international & ventures, IFC. “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, Metromile said in the release. With 95 million low mileage drivers in the U.S., the company has an addressable market of more than US$70 billion. Metromile currently offers pay-per-mile insurance in seven states: California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Availability in these seven states means that 30% of U.S. drivers can now get car insurance coverage through Metromile, the company reported.

Related: MetroMile launches pay-per-mile auto insurance, driving data technology in U.S.

Earlier this year, Metromile launched an innovative partnership with Uber 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.