Per-mile car insurance firm Metromile has raised $191.5 million since 2014, now underwrites its own policies

By Venturebeat

Pay-per-mile car insurance service Metromile revealed that it has raised a whopping $191.5 million over a number of rounds dating back to 2014.

The San Francisco-based startup says it closed a hitherto unannounced $38.4 million Series C round back in late 2014 and closed a $103.1 million Series D round in Q1 2016, before nabbing a $50 million “strategic investment” from China Pacific Insurance (CPIC) just this month. This is in addition to the $14 million the company was already known to have raised previously.

The new investors, in addition to CPIC, include Index Ventures, Intact Financial, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Mitsui, First Round Capital, SV Angel, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and Metromile’s own founder and chairman, David Friedberg.

Founded in 2011, Metromile currently operates in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. The company has developed a device called the Metromile Pulse, which drivers plug into their car to monitor their time on the road. Related to this, Metromile also offers car insurance — through partners — that is priced based on the number of road hours rather than as a flat monthly fee. Metromile actually partnered with Uber last year to let drivers pay for insurance for the time they’re on the road — it was a decent perk, given that many Uber drivers work on a part-time basis.

Underwriting

In addition to the funding, Metromile has also announced that one of the first outcomes of its new-found wealth is the acquisition of an insurance carrier called the Mosaic Insurance Company. This move transforms Metromile from a technology company into an insurance company that’s “approaching car insurance in a whole different way,” according to a company statement. Previously, Metromile had partnered with National General Insurance Group to underwrite its policies and manage claims, meaning that the process wasn’t always seamless. Moving forward, the company’s full name will be Metromile Insurance Company, and it will underwrite its own policies and manage the entire claims process.

“Closing this financing round not only accelerates our nationwide expansion but allows Metromile to operate as an end-to-end insurance company, which includes providing our customers a fully seamless claims experience,” said Metromile CEO Dan Preston. “This foundation, coupled with our expertise in technology, will allow us to deliver exciting new features to our drivers that make car ownership easy, personal, and affordable, while providing an exceptional customer experience.”

Metromile is licensed to offer car insurance nationwide as a result of the acquisition, and the company is already underwriting policies in New Jersey, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, with California, Illinois, and Washington being added soon. The funding is being used to ensure that Metromile can grow across the U.S. into more states, a process that’s expected to begin in early 2017.

As for a global launch, there is nothing firm on the horizon yet, but a spokesperson confirmed to VentureBeat that Metromile is “excited about exploring global opportunities” some time in the future.

First appeared at Venturebeat