According to Passmore, COVID-19 has brought with it disruptions to the normally staid auto insurance sector. Chief among the disruptors are insurtech — that’s short for insurance technology — firms, which are rethinking coverage and putting a new spin on old concepts.   

Usage-based insurance, in which rates are dependent on miles driven, and telematics have been around for more than two decades, Passmore said. As early as 1998, Progressive Corp. offered consumers a telematics program that used GPS to measure mileage, rewarding safe drivers with lower premiums.