Direct Line acquires By Miles

DLG already underwrites By Miles’ new business, and added the acquisition has negligible impact on the group’s capital position.

When it formally launched in 2018, the business was underwritten by Axa; After a fundraiser of £15m, led by CommerzVentures in 2020, By Miles signed a deal to work with Broker Network so members could gain access to its products.

By Miles has sold over 100,000 policies since launch and currently has 50,000 customers, writing £26m of gross written premium.

In 2020 DLG bought another personal lines insurtech, Brolly, for an undisclosed sum.

Andy Broadfield, who leads Direct Line Group’s ‘Ecosystems’ team, said: “We’re excited to join forces with By Miles – they are an entrepreneurial team that have built fantastic capability and, like us, are focused on delivering every day for their customers.

“It’s a perfect fit because we’re creating easy, digital-first journeys to enable customers to pick the motor insurance cover that best suits them. Combining our customer-friendly brands, underwriting and data expertise with By Miles’ innovative connected car capability and engaging customer proposition is an exciting prospect. We can’t wait to get started because it provides exciting potential for the Group to meet more of the needs of more customers.”

James Blackham, CEO of By Miles, pictured, added: “We’re delighted to be joining Direct Line Group. When we started By Miles back in 2016, we wanted to build a new kind of insurance that would better fit the lives of drivers today and would continue evolving to support the way drivers get around in the future. Direct Line’s underwriting data and insight, commitment to customer experience and comprehensive knowledge of building household brands chimes perfectly with our mission of bringing the benefits of fair, data-led pricing to as many UK drivers as possible.

“Having proven the demand for usage-based insurance, we’ve made great progress building out our connected car data platform. With these solid foundations and the support of Direct Line Group, we’re excited to take our business to the next stage.”

DLG reported a £45m loss last month and its CEO Penny James stepped down in February after a profit warning.