International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP announced today that it has received the prestigious China Business Law Journal’s 2016 Deals of the Year
for CPIC Investment in Metromile.

Dorey represented the Shanghai-based China Pacific Property Insurance Co., Ltd., one of the top three property insurance providers in China, in its recent venture capital and strategic investment in San Francisco-based Metromile, the leader in pay-per-mile car insurance in the United States. CPIC invested $50 million through a series of Class AA Preferred Stock that functions like venture debt. CPIC joins a group of A-list institutional venture investors in Metromile, as well as Metromile Founder and Chairman David Friedberg and well-known entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

The investment is intended to establish a cooperative relationship between CPIC and Metromile and provide a platform for developing innovative, usage-based insurance products and expanding the markets for such products.

Metromile is an insurance company that is attempting to revolutionize car insurance through technology with its pay-per-mile insurance model, which enables Metromile to offer car insurance with pricing based on the miles actually driven by its policy holders.

The Dorsey team was led by Shanghai Office Head and Corporate Partner Peter Corne, Beijing Corporate Partner Frank Hong and Salt Lake City Corporate Partner Nolan Taylor. The rest of the global team included Dorsey lawyers from Beijing, Minneapolis, Palo Alto, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Shanghai.

China Business Law Journal selects the winning deals on a number of factors, not just large monetary values. The overall significance, complexity and innovative nature of the deals were also considered, as well as the deal size and broader interests.