By Miles raises £15m in Series B funding

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Another insurtech has raised funding despite the uncertainty posed by the pandemic

Insurtech By Miles has raised £15m in a series B funding round led by CommerzVentures.

With the UK still in lockdown, business is booming for the pay-by-mile car insurance provider as it saw its strongest sales week ever in the month of April, which it will use to scale the business and support consumer interest.

Its existing investors Octopus Ventures, Insurtech Gateway and JamJar investments also continued their support with further investment.

James Blackham, co-founder and chief executive at By Miles, said: “This crisis has shown UK drivers what we’ve known for a while, the way car insurance works now isn’t working for everyone.

”They’re rightly questioning why they should pay for insurance they’re not able to use and asking why traditional car insurers can’t provide a flexible alternative to meet their needs.”

It follows insurtech Urban Jungle also raising funding.

Modernising

The insurtech’s pay-by-mile car insurance provides lower mileage drivers with a flexible, lower cost policy that drivers can track in real-time.

It has insured nearly 39 million miles for UK drivers and By Miles expects to see this demand grow as driving habits shift during lockdown.

“We’re thrilled that CommerzVentures are joining us to bring our fairer kind of car insurance to even more drivers.

”They bring considerable experience of scaling new insurance businesses, and we look forward to working with them as demand for pay-by-mile grows,” Blackham added.

Meanwhile, Paul Morgenthaler, partner at CommerzVentures, said: “Car insurance needs a shake-up if it’s going to remain relevant in a world of semi-autonomous, connected and electric cars.

“And in the current climate, insurers can’t ignore that - drivers want more flexibility and fairer pricing. By Miles is offering just that: a simple and transparent pay-by-mile model, exceptional customer service and significant savings via an easy-to-use app.

“Our job is to support the growth of companies with the potential to redefine and modernise insurance. I believe in By Miles we’ve found exactly that, and we’re excited to be joining them on the journey to transform car insurance as we know it, forever.”

By Miles launched a connected car insurance policy designed to help Tesla drivers save money in December 2019, which it claims is ‘first in the world’.

And in February 2020 it launched a new feature to alert policyholders if they drive through London’s ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) zone to help them avoid unnecessary penalties.

Blackham has also recently campaigned for fairness across the UK insurance industry during the Covid-19 lockdown while motorists are using their cars less.