Acquisition will provide usage-based insurance offering to USAA members
In a move to transform itself into a leading Usage Based Insurance (UBI) provider, United Services Automobile Association, better known as USAA, announced that it has acquired the insurtech company Noblr.
“The acquisition of Noblr, Inc. increases our competitiveness in the marketplace and adds the choice of UBI capability for our members. Members will get personalized pricing that fits their risk and usage profile, better control over the cost of their auto policies and an exceptional end-to-end digital experience.”
Wayne Peacock, USAA President and Chief Executive Officer. “
“USAA has always been an innovator, and the addition of Noblr, Inc.’s technology platform is another example of our commitment to deliver world-class service and experiences to our members,” added Peacock.
While no further specific terms of the transaction were disclosed, USAA does expect the acquisition to close later this year pending customary regulatory approval.
An insurtech started by the former President of Esurance
Noblr was founded by insurance industry veterans Gary Tolman and Jason Foucher in 2017. Prior to starting Noblr, co-founder Gary Tolman, was the president of Esurance from 2000 until 2015, growing it from a start-up to a nationally-recognized direct-to-consumer insurance company. After leaving Esurance (which was sold to Allstate in 2011 for $1billion) Mr. Tolman joined forces with Jason Foucher to create a “new kind of car insurance” by leveraging telematics data and actuarial insight in order to deliver drivers real-time rates based on their actual driving data.
In commenting on the sale of Noblr, Mr. Tolman noted the opportunity this merger offers both his insurtech and USAA.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Noblr team to quickly and significantly expand the implementation of usage-based telematics to more states and to serve our military families, USAA members,” said Gary Tolman, Noblr, Inc. CEO and co-founder. “We look forward to being a part of the USAA team as they embark on their next century.”
Noblr will operately separately from USAA’s SafePilot program
While Noblr will offer many new opportunities for USAA with its UBI product, it will run separately from USAA”s own behavior-based insurance program (BBI), SafePilot.
USAA noted that that program also continues to grow in popularity with its members having experienced a 200% increase in 2020, with nearly half on new policyholders coming from states where customers could opt-in to the the SafePilot Program. While USAA believes that its acquisition of Noblr complements the growth of its own SafePilot Program, USAA says the two programs will be run separately.
By acquiring the technological capabilities of Noblr, USAA says it will be able to quickly gain momentum in this marketplace with a plan to roll out UBI to its members, throughout the country, within the next three years. To begin with, however, the company will launch its new product in the eight states where Noblr already has a presence.
