Targeted at people who rack up fewer than 4,000 miles per year, Cuvva requires a small subscription fee and then you’re free to top-up only when you need to drive, from as little as £1.20 per hour. The creators claim the app could save infrequent drivers up to £1,500 per year, while maintaining the perks of traditional car insurance like a no claims discount. "Pay-as-you-go insurance is a long overdue product in the UK, where increasingly the trend is for drivers to use their cars less," says Ophelia Brown, general partner at LocalGlobe, an investor in Cuvva.

Gen Y is the largest generation since the Boomers, but they have almost no relationship with the insurance industry – partly because the sector has yet to deliver a solution that really speaks to them. “They consider insurance a complex financial transaction and they don’t feel they understand it well enough,” says Shane Cassidy, head of property and casualty insurance at Capgemini. “What they do expect is that the insurer knows them; they expect a lot from the automated side.” But offerings like Cuvva demonstrate that the industry is flexible, and more than capable of catering to a new generation of needs.

Trōv has already applied a pay-as-you go model for insurance to tech and household goods, but it could prove especially useful for cars. After all, two-thirds of people will be living in cities by 2050, and a growing number of people aren’t buying cars outright anymore. Digitally integrated models like Trōv and Cuvva's are appealing because this cohort are used to managing their lives on their devices. By offering traditional coverage on a flexible basis, these services could prove vital to getting younger generations insured.

cuvva.com

Mica Anthony is Canvas8’s editorial assistant. She’s passionate about uncovering the newest electronic music producers, re-living ‘90s fashion and championing the voices often left out of mainstream media.