Metromile announces Q3 results

Metromile announced its results for the third quarter of 2021. Here are some highlights:

• Policies in force decreased by 76, going from 95,314 at the end of Q2 2021 to 95,238.
• Direct earned premium in the third quarter of 2021 was $28.5 million, a 6.7% increase from the prior-year period.
• Average annual premium per policy was $1,197 as of September 30, 2021, a 6.1% increase compared to $1,128 on September 30, 2020, due to more miles driven on a year-over-year basis.
• Premium run-rate was $114.0 million as of September 30, 2021, a 9.5% increase compared to $104.1 million on September 30, 2020.
• Accident quarter loss ratio was 81.6% in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 56.7% in the prior-year period, resulting from an increase in claims severity “observed industry-wide” and bodily injury frequency as well as claims related to Hurricane Ida; partially offset by the higher earned premium from our per-mile pricing model. Accident quarter loss ratio excluding catastrophe losses was 77.2% excluding claims related to Hurricane Ida.
• Total enterprise software revenue was $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $1.1 million in the prior-year period.
• Total operating expense, which excludes loss, loss adjustment expenses, marketing and sales, and variable costs associated with servicing policies, was $16.4 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $8.6 million in the prior-year period.
• Total marketing, sales, underwriting, and device costs were $10.8 million in the third quarter of 2021, compared to $1.9 million in the prior-year period when marketing had been significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $159.2 million on September 30, 2021.

“During the quarter, we continued to make progress on and invest in our growth initiatives, and while our Policies in Force were largely flat for the quarter ending September 30, 2021, Policies in Force have now grown for three consecutive months, including October. We also saw a rising cost of acquisition as we ramped our investment to increase our brand awareness and reinforce trust with customers. Key initiatives included refreshing our messaging to align with drivers’ current needs, expanding our Independent Agent channel with a comparative rater integration, and continued work toward state expansion. Additionally, Metromile Enterprise continues to make progress, signing up new customers like Buckle for its software solutions.” – Dan Preston, CEO of Metromile.

Due to the pending transaction with Lemonade, the company will not host an earnings call.