Auto insurance company Metromile today announced that it will let its policyholders pay the premium with bitcoin and even receive a claim payout. San Francisco-based Metromile, which offers “Pay-Per-mile insurance,” says that it will roll out cryptocurrency capabilities later this year.
Metromile says it will be the first insurer to both accept premium and pay claims in cryptocurrency. It will purchase $10 million of Bitcoin in Q2 2021 to begin adopting the cryptocurrency. Rick Chen spokesperson of MetroMile says, a launch date for the cryptocurrency program not yet set.
“Metromile gives drivers control over how they want to pay for insurance. We started by giving drivers an opportunity to save 47% a year paying per mile and now we want to offer people the flexibility to pay and be paid how they want,” said Metromile CEO Dan Preston.
The company says that as digital assets are rapidly becoming mainstream, Bitcoin payment should “promote financial resilience” for its customers.
“We believe that offering Bitcoin as an option for premium and claim payments would be an important first step”. The company says it will collaborate with regulators to satisfy any concern that has about the Metromile adoption of cryptocurrency.
Metromile currently offers coverage in eight states: Arizona, California, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, and Washington. At the end of 2020, MetroMile had 92,635 auto insurance policies in force, according to Chen.
As the crypto market continues its bull run, a growing number of firms are accepting Bitcoin payments. Tesla made a headline announcement that it would introduce a Bitcoin payment option for its cars. Many companies across the globe are now adopting Bitcoin for their product and services.
