Metromile Insurance Review: Is Pay-Per-Mile Worth It?

Updated January 05, 2024

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If you are looking for a cheaper option for auto insurance, Metromile offers an intriguing solutio🍬n. Its charges are based primarily on how much you ♓drive.

It was a new concept when Metromile launched in 2011 in San Francisco. It would sell car insurance to people who would rather 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:pay by the mile. The target market was the vast and growing number of people who work from home, are retired or semi-retired, commute by mass transit, but keep a car for the weekend—anyone who isn't stuck in a long daily commute.

As of 🐽January 2024, Metromile is available in eight states, 𒅌including Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.

Metromile worked well enough that competitors🧜 have since emer🏅ged, including big names like Allstate and Nationwide.

Key Takeaways

Metromile is alternative car insurance, with rates determined primarily by the driver's actual mileage.
Metromile uses a monitor that plugs into a car's diagnostic port to track the number of miles driven.
Traditional factors, such as age, credit history, and driving history, determine a driver's eligibility for Metromile insurance.
In addition to the driver's qualifications, the car must be equipped with an OBD-II port.

Understanding Metromile

Metromile insurance charges a flat monthly fee🍃 plus a mileage fee. For example, you may pay $40 per month plus 5 cents per mile. If you drive 500 miles per month, you would pay $65 pe🙈r month or $780 per year.

As with traditionaꦆl insurers, the fee varies depending on your driving record, age, and where you live.

There are some exceptions to the mileage rule. First, Metromile will only charge you for up to 250 miles per day, or 150 per day in New Jersey. That means the occasional road trip won’t break the bank, but you’d run up a hefty bill with a cross-country trip.

How♏ does Metromile know how many miles you drive? It uses Metromile Pulse, which plugs into your car’s diagnostic port, the same one your mechanic uses to diagnose problems with your vehicle. Pulse sends a raft of data to Metromile that you can 🐷access on the app or online.

The data iꦦncludes mileage, the condition of your vehicle, and your location. Pulse also has an alert system that notifies you if you need to move your car off the street. These alerts are called street-cleaning notifications.

Metromile pr𝐆ovides Pulse adapte🌼rs to support customers with older cars or any car that doesn’t have an OBD-II port.

Who's Eligible

Metromile insurance works much like any carrier when it comes to eligibility. Your driving history, age, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit score, and other factors determine your base and per mileage rates. That means there can be big di൲fferences between what you and your neighbor would pay.

What Metromile Covers

Metromile has all of the options you would get with most carriers. It covers bodily injury and property damage and has uninsured or underinsured motorist protection. It has the usual comprehensive and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:collision deductions from $250 to $1,000.

You also get 24/7 claims sꦬervice and even roadside assistance.

No Coverage for Uber or Lyft

Metromile recently canceled its partnership with Uber and does not cover competitor ride-shari♌ng services like Lyft.

It recently to create fractional insurance, which helps drivers avoid being double-charged or double-insured. Metromile customers who are also Turo customers will only pay the per-mile charge when their car is not shared with someone else through Turo. Turo's insurance kicks in when someone else is driving the Metromile customer's car.

Metromile Competitors

This is a new enough conc𒉰ept that there are few contenders, and they may limit their coverage to a few states. As of this writing, pay-per-mile auto insurance is offered by the following:

Metromile, now owned by Lemonade and soon to be renamed after its parent company.
Allstate, which has a program called Milewise in about 17 states.
Nationwide Mutual, which has introduced SmartMiles in 44 states.
Mile Auto, which is currently available in 11 states.

Metromile Acquired by Lemonade

The insurance company Lemonade acquired Metromile in July 2022. The Metromile brand "will sunset" at some point, according to its new owner, and its customers will transition to Lemonade.

Why Isn't Car Insurance Sold By the Mile?

Car insurance wasn't traditionally sold by the mile because there wasn't an app for that. Seriously, an insurer could ask general questions about your driving habits, which could and did take account of your personal driving record. But until a plug-in app was developed to track the miles a vehicle was driven, an insurer could only take your word for it.

Metromile and other pay-as-you-drive insurers will consider traditional factors, like age and driving history, in s♊etting your minimum rate, but your actual miles driven will determine your monthly costs.

Does Metromile Have Competitors?

Allstate has an offering called Milewise that follows the same concept. The program is designed for "people who drive less than the average driver, such as stay-at-home parents, commuters, people who work from home or near home, and retirees." It's not available nationwide, but it is in 17 states, meaning it has considerably broader coverage than Metromile at this time.

USAA, which specializes in insuring military families, also offers a pay-as-you-drive insurance policy.

Why Did Lemonade Buy Metromile?

Lemonade is an insurance company that offers car insurance in addition to life, renters, homeowners, and pet insurance. Its auto insurance has an app that monitors the driver's mileage and promises lower rates for drivers who chew up fewer miles.

In a company statement, Lemonade said that the Metromile brand and app will morph into the Lemonade Car brand at some point. Reading between the lines, it appears that Metromile's app-based data collection system is of serious interest to Lemonade.

The announcement also indicates that Metromile is a registered insurance entity in 49 states, suggesting that the pay-per-mile service will expand beyond its current eight-state reach.

Is MetroMile a Good Insurer?

MetroMile got decidedly mixed reviews from its customers, judging by its 1.5 out of five-year rating on sitejabber, a consumer review service. Customer service appeared to be one major problem. This may change with MetroMile's purchase by Lemonade.

The more important question is whether you should switch from conventional auto insurance to pay-per-mile auto insurance. If you don't drive regularly, pay-per-mile could be a good way to save money. There are choices out there now including Lemonade (MetroMile's new owner), Allstate, and USAA.

The Bottom Line

The idea sounds great for people who drive only infrequently 𝓡or for short distances. Why should they pay the same for insurance as some🌠one with a long daily highway commute?

A ☂quick, non-scientific look at reviews of the company found them to be mixed. Many reviews say that the claims exper𓄧ience was less than ideal, and some people report that the price went up after six months to the point where it became cheaper to purchase traditional insurance.

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