We couldn’t be prouder to announce that By Miles has partnered with AXA to provide the insurance for our first pay-by-mile product in the UK.
This exciting announcement paves the way for launching By Miles to our waiting list next month!
As people who have been on our waiting list for the last year will tell you, this news has been a long time coming. So I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the patient people who have continued to give us their support, and explain a bit about why we chose to work with AXA.
Our goal from the very start has been to build a better and fairer car insurance product. So the decision on which company we’d work with to underwrite our policies was not one we made lightly; we set three criteria:
1. Financial strength
If the worst happens and one of our members needs to make a claim, we want them to feel safe that their insurer will be there to back them up. AXA Insurance UK is one of the biggest car insurance providers in the UK, part of the huge global AXA Group and is rated AA- (one of the highest ratings it’s possible to get) by Standard & Poors.
2. Support of innovation
We can’t improve car insurance without a partner that also wants to innovate with us. Unlike some insurers who just talk about innovation, AXA has been a leader in taking action to identify and scale new ideas and services. AXA has its own “AXA Labs”, has been a huge supporter in driverless car research and has its own dedicated insurtech investment fund.
3. A great deal of experience
We bring a fresh approach, but car insurance is a complex beast and an “old hand” would make a perfect balance. AXA is over two hundred years old – it was founded in 1816 – and has been in the UK since 1999 when it bought Guardian Royal Exchange – itself originally founded in 1821! The experience they bring is invaluable.
We spent a long time meeting with almost every company with a licence to insure cars, but we weren’t willing to compromise on our criteria in choosing a partner – and in AXA we have a partner that aces them! We’ve spent the last few months working with their great motor team and they’ve already helped us make big improvements to the product.
