A delivery rider starts a shift, and Zego’s meter starts running. When the shift ends, the cover stops.
So how does Zego make money from cover that’s billed by the minute? Zego pay as you go insurance built the brand. The income comes from somewhere you won’t see in the app.
What Is Zego and Who Is It Built For?
Zego is a London motor insurer, founded in 2016, that sells car, van, taxi and delivery cover to individual drivers and riders.
Its founders came from the customers’ world. Sten Saar and Harry Franks previously worked at Deliveroo, and Insurance Times reports they saw that gig workers needed commercial cover traditional policies did not suit. Franks left in 2023.
After its 2023 accounts, Zego exited its B2B fleet product to focus on individual drivers.
How Does Zego Make Money?
Zego earns commission on the policies it sells, and its own Gibraltar insurer earns reinsurance commission and a margin on the risk it carries.
That explains why Zego’s income is far smaller than the premium passing through it.
There are two layers.
The distributor is Extracover Limited, trading as Zego and authorised by the FCA.
Its Terms of Business say it acts as an agent of insurers and takes commission paid out of the premium. The risk-carrier is Zego Insurance Limited, which, according to Zego’s regulatory report, is paid through reinsurance commission and a margin within its co-insurance arrangement.
That split sits at the heart of the Zego insurance business model. It also decides where each of Zego’s revenue streams lands.
Zego Revenue Streams Explained
Zego’s revenue streams start with commission: its Terms of Business say it normally earns commission from insurers, product providers and, where applicable, finance providers.
The published numbers add more layers, though none amounts to a full revenue split:
- Intermediary commission and fees: The Terms also refer to Zego fees. We found no published amount.
- Reinsurance commission at the insurer: £13.3m written in 2025, up from £7.4m in 2024.
- Investment income: About £2m at group level in 2025.
The report also shows group non-risk income of £30.5m for 2025. It does not call that revenue, so neither do we.
Filed accounts for 2023 put net turnover at £16.3m, up from £11.5m, against gross written premium of £121.9m. So how does Zego make money when most premium passes straight through? Through commission and margin, not the premium itself.
Zego Pay as You Go Insurance: How the Pricing Works
Zego pay as you go insurance charges by the minute while you work, with a minimum charge of one hour for each session.
When you stop delivering, cover pauses and the cost comes out of a prepaid balance in the Zego app. It works as a top-up, not a standalone policy: you need social, domestic and pleasure cover in place first.
Zego also sells 30-day and annual policies, and says the hourly rate depends on personal factors, quoted in the app.
We have left example prices out, because Zego’s own pages have shown different rates at different times.
The Zego Insurance Business Model: Underwriting, Reinsurance and Telematics Data
Under the Zego insurance business model, a UK intermediary sells the policies while Zego Insurance Limited, in Gibraltar, underwrites them and passes most of the risk to reinsurers.
Licensed in Gibraltar in 2019 and renamed in 2025 from Extracover Insurance Company Limited, the insurer keeps 25% of every risk through a quota share and buys excess-of-loss cover above £1.0m.
The scale of the hand-off is stark.
In 2025, outward reinsurance premiums were £54.2m, or 94% of £57.6m gross earned premium. The report itself says the resulting £3.4m net earned premium is not a meaningful measure of performance. The gross loss ratio, capped at the excess-of-loss retention, was 67%.
Telematics is the pricing edge.
Zego’s 2023 accounts called its telematics proposition central to its strategy, and said the B2B business did not benefit from it.
Beyond Gig Work: Zego Sense, Personal Car and Van Cover
Zego Sense is the company’s app-based telematics policy: your phone scores your acceleration, braking and cornering, and a higher score lowers your renewal price.
There is no black box.
Where Zego pay as you go insurance follows the shift, Sense follows the driver.
In 2025, Zego said most of its ride-hailing and van customers, and every personal car policy, used app-based telematics. The personal car product, aimed at newer drivers, launched that year, and the regulatory report says the insurer underwrites it 100%. We have left discount percentages out, because Zego’s pages quote different ones at different dates.
Funding, Valuation and the Road to Profitability
Zego is profitable on its latest figures, but the amount depends on the source: £4.6m according to Insurance Post, £1.5m according to its own regulatory report.
The road there was long.
In March 2021, Zego raised $150m in a Series C led by DST Global at a $1.1bn valuation.
Then came the losses.
Its 2023 accounts showed gross written premium of £121.9m, down from £137.6m, and a loss before tax of £32.6m, down from £59.9m. Zego said it reached monthly profitability in December 2024.
We could not reconcile the differences. Profit is thin, and the sources disagree on how thin.
Fresh capital followed.
In April 2026, Sompo Holdings joined a $28m (about £20.6m) round and agreed a telematics partnership for Japan.
Zego vs INSHUR and Traditional Insurers
Zego and INSHUR were both founded in 2016 to insure on-demand workers, but Zego sells direct to drivers while INSHUR describes itself as embedding cover inside platforms.
Zego distributes through price comparison websites and direct to customers. INSHUR, headquartered in New York, markets embedded commercial auto insurance for the on-demand economy.
Against traditional insurers, the clearest documented difference is structural: Zego’s hourly cover sits alongside a standard social, domestic and pleasure policy rather than replacing it. We could not verify pricing, market share or INSHUR’s financials, so this comparison is about model, not scale.
Lessons for Founders Building an Insurtech
Zego’s business model offers founders three lessons: growth is not profit, owning a carrier consumes capital, and telematics only pays where you can price on it.
- Growth is not profit: Zego’s B2B segment grew its top line but missed performance expectations, so it left.
- A carrier eats capital: The insurer’s solvency coverage fell from 253% to 164% in 2025. The report blames growth in underwriting volumes and a maturing loss-ratio assumption. A £5.0m injection followed in March 2026.
- Reinsurance is leverage with strings: Commission from reinsurers is partly linked to the underlying underwriting result.
So, how does Zego make money? By selling the policy, keeping a quarter of the risk and earning commission on the way through.
FAQs
1. Is Zego profitable?
Yes, on its latest reported figures. Zego’s regulatory report shows a 2025 group profit of £1.5m, against a £5.7m loss in 2024, while Insurance Post reported £4.6m. The company said it first reached monthly profitability in December 2024. We could not reconcile the annual figures.
2. Who underwrites Zego insurance?
Zego Insurance Limited, a Gibraltar insurer regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, formerly called Extracover Insurance Company Limited. Zego’s delivery, taxi and van policy booklets also name Wakam UK Limited as an insurer, each liable only for its own share. The regulatory report does not name its co-insurer.
3. Who founded Zego?
Most profiles name Sten Saar, Harry Franks and Stuart Kelly as Zego’s founders in 2016. Saar is chief executive and held 12.55% of the parent company at the end of 2025 (Zego regulatory report). Franks left in 2023, Insurance Times reported.
Also Read: Who Is Still Flying in eVTOL UK When the Money Gathers Elsewhere?
Sources: Zego (website, Terms of Business, help centre and policy booklets); Zego Group Solvency and Financial Condition Report for 2025; Insurance Times; Insurance Post; TechCrunch; FinTech Global; Insurtech Digital; PitchBook; CB Insights. Figures reflect the most recent available data at the time of writing, 13 November 2026.
The EP+ Editorial Desk covers UK startups, founder stories, and venture capital. All editorial content is independently produced and human-reviewed before publication.
