Metromile is going after agents

Last week we reported that Root Insurance is going after independent agents, which leaves Metromile as one of the last standing companies selling direct to consumer. Today that changes.

The pay-per-mile insurer has a job opening a for a Channel Manager that will focus on partnerships and agents.

According to the job description, the channel manager will work with both partner brands and independent insurance agencies to increase consumers’ access to Metromile’s products and drive growth. The individual will also partner with the product team to create easier paths to integration and simplify the quote, bind, and service experience for the company’s agency network.

In their investor presentation, Metromile claimed that customer acquisition cost for Q2 2020 was $238 – an attractive number that makes the agent channel less attractive. However, this figure only included underwriting fees and the pulse device cost without any marketing expenses since the company decided to cut all marketing earlier that year. In May, Metromile shared their Q1 results, adding 3,323 new policies since Q4 2020 while spending $8.5 million on marketing, sales, underwriting, and device costs. Assuming there wasn’t a significant number of policy cancellations during that quarter, we’re looking at around $2,500 to acquire one policy.

Bottom Line: Agents aren’t the answer for Metromile .