The latest insurance innovation from L Marks alumni Wrisk

UK Insurtech Wrisk is partnering with the RAC to launch a new car insurance option offered on a Pay by Mile subscription basis.

The new scheme from two-time L Marks alumni Wrisk (from our insurance-themed B MW Innovation Lab UK, 2016 and its US counterpart BMW Collaboration Lab, 2018) and the RAC will allow customers to only pay for the miles they drive, setting itself apart from traditional car insurance, which only charges drivers based on mileage estimates without offering refunds to those who drive shorter distances.

Built on a mobile-first platform, the insurance option provides users with a more flexible solution that can be amended and cancelled at any time, while Pay by Mile pricing derives real-time mileage and offers rates that reflect that usage.

To match the preferences of drivers who drive less than 6,000 miles annually, the platform takes into account a combination of actual mileage per month with other signals, such as destination, time of journey, and weather conditions, which users can choose to share.

How it works

After paying a one-off activation fee, users of the new Pay by Mile insurance scheme pay a premium that’s split into two parts:

the parked premium – a set charge paid at the beginning of each month to insure the vehicle whilst it’s not in use;
a per mile premium – a per-mile charge for insuring the car while it’s being driven, which is paid at the end of each month.

Customers receive a drive tag, which is designed to be placed on the windscreen and be paired with a smartphone to record mileage, and policies can be managed securely online or via the Pay by Mile app.

Wrisk’s new partnership with RAC is just the latest in a number of high-profile collaborations. Just two years after joining the first BMW UK programme in 2016, Wrisk extended its partnership with BMW Group Financial Services (BMW Group) to provide all new Minis sold in the UK with three months free car insurance.

The third BMW Innovation Lab UK programme ran earlier this year, with six startups presenting their solutions at the virtual Demo Day on 14th April. BMW expects to continue collaborating with the teams from the programme.