Insurtech Zego partners with Uber-backed car rental start-up Splend

London-based insurtech Zego, a provider of pay-as-you-go insurance for drivers and riders who work flexibly with their own vehicles, has partnered with car rental startup Splend to provide cover for its UK fleet.

Splend was founded in Australia in 2015 and has raised $10 million in equity to date and expanded to nine cities in Europe, the Americas and Australia.

The move follows the Australian company’s decision to move its headquarters to London.

The partnership will see Zego offer the company a better understanding of its own drivers’ behaviour, through analysis of telematics data generated by black boxes inside cars. It will in turn help Splend to improve decision-making when it comes to resource distribution, while reducing the risk of accidents and consequently, the cost of its insurance.

Zego has recently raised $42 million Series B funding from investment firm Target Global, and launched its pay-as-you-go insurance products in Spain.

Sten Saar, CEO and co-founder of Zego, said: “In a short space of time, Splend has become one of the leading forces in the new mobility sector and the company’s trajectory and ambitions very much mirror our own. Both Zego and Splend are committed to using data to modernise the way that fleets of cars operate and to reduce risk and this is just the beginning of a partnership which we hope will see us work in unison around the world.”

Get all the latest re/insurance industry news with our daily newsletter -  sign up here.

Lloyd’s Lab picks 'best talent from the tech sector' to help transform the market

AXIS Re taps Swiss Re exec as North America head

Chubb names new overseas head as Andrade departs for Everest

Lloyd's broker EC3 continues hiring spree from Integro

Markel hires energy underwriter from Marsh in Singapore

Feature article:  15 ways technology is transforming insurance… and five to watch