Metromile, Ford Motor Change The Way Consumers Look At Car Ownership

Metromile, an insurance-focused fintech powered by data science and machine learning, on Thursday announced it partnered with Ford Motor Company F, to provide vehicle owners with built-in, intelligent car insurance.

As part of the development, Benzinga chatted with Metromile CTO Paw Andersen.

About Metromile: Today, fewer consumers fit the traditional profile of car owners. Instead, among other things, many use ride-share services such as Uber Technologies Inc UBER and Lyft Inc LYFT.

The problem with evolving consumer preferences: traditional insurance solutions don't recognize and tailor their rates to behavior.

Founded in 2011, Metromile is a pioneer in pay-per-mile auto insurance, leveraging big data and intelligent systems to lower the burden of insurance.

In the simplest way possible: Metromile adjusts auto insurance rates based on driving behavior.

“We support and give consumers control over their mobility and the costs associated with it,” said Andersen, who previously led Uber’s software team for autonomous vehicles. “With our product, we are giving you control, adapting your insurance based on how many miles you drive, and how safe you drive.”

Product Portfolio: “Today, people drive less as lifestyles are changing.”

Through Pulse, the company’s telematics device which plugs into a car’s diagnostics port, the company monitors vehicle health, location, and driving data.

“We use our technology and sensors in the vehicle to realize how people are driving. Are you driving in commutes? Are you doing weekend trips? Which areas are you driving in?

“We use that data to provide you with a discount when you behave safely and we give a much more seamless and automated claims processing experience," said Andersen. "We know when you’re standing at a red light and somebody hits you from behind. You don’t have to explain or defend what happened. We can immediately process your claim.”

Recent Events: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Metromile technology revealed people were not driving.

“We adapted to people’s driving as they sheltered in place, immediately,” the CTO said. “It’s not something we had to reimburse for afterwards. We just never collected money from them.”

Adding, in line with the mobility transformation and impact COVID-19 had on driving, Ford partnered with Metromile to offer consumers a holistic driving experience. With the partnership, Metromile, if the car owner allows, can access Ford sensors and safety features to measure real-time risk and price insurance.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Ford who is trying to make sure their customer experience is full cycle. It’s not just about buying a car and driving off the lot. This is a chance to give consumers the benefit of safe cars and cheap insurance.”

Innovation Outlook: According to Andersen, the firm plans to continue innovating, tailoring its product to benefit users in more ways than just low insurance premiums:

“We will be looking at data sets that show how safe you’re driving. This includes things like how you are using safety features such as lane keep assistance and adaptive cruise control.”

Going forward, Metromile also expects further acceleration in the industry and will look to collaborate with more manufacturers, helping make car ownership a more unified experience.

“What we find most interesting in the next few years is how our product can make you live a safer life, have more flexibility, mobility, and save money at the same time,” said Andersen. “As cars evolve, and using features from autonomous vehicles, we will be able to really change how insurance products are working and keep you safe at the same time.”

To learn more about Metromile, click here.