@Mujo I think this looks like an interesting option they have taken. It would be good to know what we are getting for the $1.5M, in the announcment it just says a simple agreement for future equity. They are also now distributors of this insurance so if it sells well they will recoup that investment over time.
Kobo insurance itself looks pretty interesting and is targeted at people who have a newish car that don't drive that much. They only do comprehensive insurance. From what I can tell this is the first real car insurance option that lets you pay what you use. I think there was another company doing something similiar a few years ago but they were just a blanket <5000km>
Anyway I did a quote for my car which I leave in the driveway most days as I either work from home or ride to work. The quote for me came out to be around $100/yr cheaper than my suncorp cpomprehensive insurance that I currently have. The breakdown was a fixed cost of $287 for insurance and then a 2.7c/km use fee (I think this rate goes down if you drive greater distances but not certain), which I estimated would be 3000 km/yr ($87), but this is a pay as you go component and is calulated and charged monthyl.
I don't think people will have a problem plugging a dongle into their on-board diagnostic port as this isn't used for anything else, this dongle is the innovative bit as it using the on-board computer to determine kilometers traveled and then talks to a app on your smartphone. I would imagine it could also have access to other driving data e.g speed rate, braking rates etc, I'm not exactly sure what the onboard computer monitors but any potential to collect data on the actual driving behaviour of the person could enable them to tailor the policy risk level over time. I will seriously think about switching to Kobo when my premium is due later this year.
I am pretty comfortable backing Tom Kents capital allocation decisions and after looking at the Kobo website and reviews I am actually pretty optimistic that this $1.5m investment will pay off for Ensurance.