Wilov wants to break the auto insurance codes

Auto Insurance where you pay for the use, simple, without any damage and entirely on mobile. This is the promise of Parisian insurtech Wilov. Convincing, the formula of the young start-up still only has a few hundred customers.

Offer car insurance for use. Not according to the number of kilometers traveled, as some insurers now offer, but according to the number of days in the month the driver uses his car. This is the new pay-as-you-drive model that Wilov, a young start-up that has just been singled out as part of the Insurtech Business Week organized by the Finance Innovation cluster, intends to develop.

An app and a connected thumbnail

Wilov is not an insurance company but officiates as a broker. To market its new product, it has formed a partnership with Suravenir Assurance, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Arkea. “This allows us to distribute insurance products to consumers.The difference with an insurance company is that we do not bear the risk of contracts in our balance sheet,” says Pierre Stanislas, co-founder of the young grows with Philippe Breuils and Anne-Claude Pont.

How does it work ? “The measurement of the usage is done according to the frequency of use”, insists the entrepreneur. This frequency is measured by a small sticker that sticks on the dashboard of the vehicle and connects via Bluetooth to a dedicated mobile application. Thanks to the GPS and gyroscope of the smartphone, the app detects when the vehicle is in driving situation. Then the application stops and does not record either the course or the speed of the vehicle.

Wilov is not an insurance company but officiates as a broker. To market its new product, it has formed a partnership with Suravenir Assurance, a subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel Arkea. “This allows us to distribute insurance products to consumers.The difference with an insurance company is that we do not bear the risk of contracts in our balance sheet,” says Pierre Stanislas, co-founder of the young shoot with Philippe Breuils and Anne-Claude Pont.

The promise of significant savings

At the end of the month, the insured pays a basic lump sum, which varies between 15 and 30 euros, then an additional amount depending on the number of days the vehicle was used. Here, the prices vary between one and two euros for 24 hours of driving. The offer is therefore interesting for drivers who do not drive every day. “Our policyholders save between 150 and more than 1000 euros per year,” says the CEO.

In addition to the economic promise, Wilov also relies on the simplicity of his product (both in substance and form) to distinguish himself. No option is proposed. “It’s a risk-free insurance with a toll-free service, there are no handling fees, no commitment,” said Pierre Stanislas. However, the offer is not currently available to young drivers or people with a penalty.

100% mobile insurance

As for the form, the whole journey is done from the smartphone of the user. After having specified his age, the date of obtaining his driving license, his license plate, his bonus and his history of disasters, the user is offered a quote. If the user validates it, a key allows him to switch to videoconferencing mode to exchange with a Wilov advisor. During this exchange, all the papers necessary for the subscription are scanned. “When you hang up, it’s really over,” says the entrepreneur.

Today, five months after the launch on iPhone and two on Android, Wilov claims a few hundred customers and tens of thousands of downloads of its mobile applications. The start-up intends to complete a fundraising of several million euros to win in France, before tackling continental Europe and perhaps Japan, where it was spotted by SBI Group, the one of the biggest financial conglomerates in the country.

A market worth 13 billion euros

Convincing, however, the formula of Wilov raises several questions. Is the target market (people who use their main vehicle little) big enough? Pierre Stanislas has no doubt about it: “Our market is huge, 65% of French people do not drive every day, the car market represents 20 billion euros in France, so our market weighs about 13 billion euros. one in five French people uses his main vehicle only 52 days a year, “he argues citing an OpinionWay study … commissioned by his start-up.

Another uncertainty about the relevance of a new model of automobile insurance at a time when studies point to the rise of the use of the vehicle at the expense of its property. “86% of the people surveyed are not ready to part with their cars in the next 10 years Carsharing does not correspond to a use of spontaneity.This concept of shared car will clearly take off but it is aimed at fringe of very specific uses that are not those for which we assure our customers, “responds the contractor.

Traditional insurers as partners?

Last question about the interest for an insurance company to support such a product where the premiums are lower and where cannibalization with some of its products is to be feared. Again Pierre Stanislas has an answer. According to him, the Wilov model does imply a reduction in premiums … but also losses (occasional drivers are less frequently within a radius of 5 kilometers from their home, where most accidents occur). An equation that would not reduce the profitability of insurers. “It’s also a question of survival for insurers, and if we do not collectively do it, someone else will do it,” he says confidently.