From Day 1, we set out to provide drivers with a new type of car insurance. Traditional car insurance doesn’t meet drivers’ needs: high rates, mediocre service, and policies that don’t consider how people’s lifestyles and driving behaviors can change.
Today’s news is the start of a fundamental shift: Metromile is teaming up with Ford to provide owners of eligible Ford vehicles with built-in connectivity with personalized car insurance that will be more affordable and fairer.
This is an important milestone for Metromile, and it’s even more important for drivers. That’s why I’m so excited about it. It’s a tangible example of how car insurance can adapt more closely to how our lives are changing — where we live and work (for many of us, that’s the same place right now), how we drive, and where we drive. Connecting your car directly to your insurance is a big step toward making insurance much more personalized to your driving habits. We’ll see more convenience, customization, and savings than ever before.
On the surface, Metromile and Ford might seem like an odd couple. Ford, founded in 1903, is among the top 15 largest corporations in the U.S. by revenue, and Metromile is a VC-backed startup launched less than ten years ago. Still, both companies share several things in common. We’re both fiercely passionate about the future of mobility. We’re both committed to delivering meaningful experiences to vehicle owners, and we’re both eager to use connected vehicles to create new ways to save on insurance and reduce the cost of ownership.
For us, Ford will help us rapidly evolve how we price insurance, measure real-time risk, and put drivers in control of an individualized pay per mile rate based on how and how much you drive. Connected vehicles like Ford’s — packed with sensors and safety features — open up myriad opportunities for us to leapfrog ahead in each of these areas.
For Metromile customers: know that we’re relentlessly striving to make car insurance as fair, personalized, and advanced as we possibly can. Ford is just one example of how we’re making that happen (for example, we invented fractional insurance so that vehicle owners can avoid overpaying for too much coverage).
I, and many Metromilers, are customers ourselves. Our parents, friends, and families are also Metromile customers. We’re proud of what we’re building, but for us, that’s not enough. We want to save you money and make you smile when you open the Metromile app. We want to be the kind of company that you tell your friends and family about. You have enough companies in your life that feel like an obligation, or like you chose the lesser of two evils. That’s not the company we’re building, and it never will be. We’re continually exploring ways to set the bar higher and finding ways to improve your savings and experience. You have my word.
As we progress — both with our work with Ford and more broadly in our march for fairer insurance — I’ll be sharing more of my thoughts on the Metromile blog and LinkedIn.
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Dan Preston, CEO