On a mission to make driving fairer we take a look at how UK-based By Miles is trying to change insurance for low mileage drivers and expanding into the EU
By Miles, a UK insurance firm, has announced the introduction of Italy’s first real-time pay-by-mile insurance policy, marking the firm’s first foray into a market outside of the United Kingdom.
Despite only selling plans in one country, By Miles has positioned itself as Europe’s leading pay-by-mile vehicle insurance provider since its inception in the UK in 2018. From Spring 2022, Italian drivers will be able to purchase coverage.
The company’s pay-by-mile coverage, which counts miles via a plug-in gadget called a Miles Tracker, currently has over 10,000 policyholders. By Miles has also recently established a new policy for Tesla vehicles that goes even farther, collecting mileage data directly from the vehicle over the internet without the need for any additional hardware.
Drivers pay a one-time fee to protect their car while it is parked, and are then paid for the miles they drive at the end of each month. This allows many drivers to save money on their gas expenses if they only use their cars for short trips or on weekends.
Entering the insurance market in Italy
In Italy, over 32 million cars were insured last year, with usage-based insurance (UBI) being included in 27 percent of new plans.
To assist with the expansion, Maurizio Ballabio and Arkadiusz Bandosz have joined the team. Maurizio comes to us after 18 years at Europ Assistance (now part of the Generali Group), where he held a number of key positions, including Director of Automotive Market Insurance. Arkadiusz is a member of the Italian Insurtech Association and served on the board of Helvetia Insurance Italy for a number of years.
“We are pleased to be able to deliver this product to Italian drivers,” said Ballabio, who is assisting with the expansion in Italy. We’re all for the idea of using our driving data to get better prices, and that’s exactly what we’ll be able to provide. Drivers across the country have been looking for a car insurance plan that reflects their reduced driving habits, and I have no doubt that this will be a hit right away.”
Meeting demand from drivers for pay-as-you-drive insurance products
By Miles has insured over 250 million miles for its UK subscribers and has seen rapid development in sales and manpower. Commerzventures, Octopus Ventures, JamJar Investments, 14W, InMotion Ventures, and Insurtech Gateway are among the investors who have contributed to the company’s continuous growth.
The goal is to extend into more EU territory by the end of 2023, following a successful launch in Italy. By Miles is fueling this expansion with its scalable UBI platform, which allows By Miles and other third parties to deploy new UBI products internationally in under a month.
“We’ve noticed a real demand from drivers for pay-as-you-drive insurance products in the UK,” said James Blackham, co-founder and chief executive of By Miles. In both the UK and Italy, average yearly mileage has been declining for over a decade and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. We’re thrilled to repeat the success of our UK playbook in another territory after adjusting some of our measures from miles to kilometres.”
