Posted by: LK Lam

EDITOR’S RATING 0 / 5 PROS

• Usage-based premiums for the occasional driver.
• User-friendly online dashboard for account management and innovative mobile app.

CONS

• Complaints about poor customer service, claims support, and unexplained price increases.
• Not many extra coverage options or discounts.
• No fixed monthly premiums.
• Only available in 8 states.

Metromile Review Summary: Metromile insurance offers affordable usage-based car insurance policies to drivers who put fewer than 10,000 miles on their cars per year. The pay-per-mile insurance model from Metromile changes the way insurance premiums are calculated by looking at how much you drive rather than how you drive. Metromile’s plug-in tracking device logs the number of miles driven to help determine your monthly premium. As a result, Metromile’s premiums are more likely to fluctuate month to month. Other auto insurers offer similar driver-monitoring programs, but unlike Metromile, the main purpose of those tracking programs is to simply promote safer driving habits.

As a relative newcomer to the industry serving only eight states, Metromile has received poor reviews for customer service and claims support. Even though drivers might see lower monthly premiums with Metromile, prospective customers should be mindful that cheaper insurance may not always be the best insurance for your needs.

In the sections below, you can learn more about the pay-per-mile insurance model from Metromile, their coverage options, and how they compare with better-known auto insurers.

Metromile Insurance Reviews & Ratings

• Better Business Bureau: A+ rating (accredited)
• J.D. Power: Not rated
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC): In 2018, Metromile received more complaints than most other auto insurers of a similar size.

A review of online complaints against Metromile reveals that customers are generally unhappy with the company’s claims service, response time, and pricing. Specifically, some customers noticed that their base rates have gone up after six months.

Fun Fact: Founded in 2011, Metromile prides itself as a disruptor of the auto insurance industry by offering pay-per-mile insurance. As a humble start-up, Metromile has raised nearly $300 million in funding. The company has about 200 employees with offices in Boston, San Francisco, and Tempe.

How Metromile’s Pay-Per-Mile Insurance Works

Metromile uses a plug-in device, called Pulse, to track the miles driven on your car. The device also works with the company’s mobile app to give you an overview of your driving data and enable important notifications. For example, if the Pulse device ever becomes unplugged, you will be alerted to plug it back in. The app also includes a vehicle diagnostic tool and alerts for street cleaning days.

The idea behind Metromile’s insurance pricing is that the less you drive, the lower your premiums will be. Metromile’s premiums are based on two components: a base rate and a usage rate. The base rate starts as low as $29. The rest of your premium depends on how much you drive (usage rate). According to Metromile, drivers can enjoy an average savings of $611 per year.

Of note, Metromile caps your daily mileage charge at 250 miles (150 miles for New Jersey). In other words, you won’t be charged for more than 250 miles per day, which means you won’t have to worry about taking a long road trip every now and then.

Pay-per-mile auto insurance from Metromile is only available to residents of Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.

Metromile Insurance Coverage Options

Metromile offers all the traditional auto insurance coverage options that are typically required by states: bodily injury liability, property damage liability, uninsured/underinsured motorists, medical payments, personal injury protection, comprehensive, and collision. Metromile customers can also enhance their auto policies by purchasing additional coverage. There are several policy add-ons to choose from.

Extra Coverage Options from Metromile Insurance:

• Collision Deductible Waiver: Allows you to waive your collision deductible payment if you get into an accident caused by a driver who does not have insurance. Policyholders must file a claim within 10 days.
• Rental Reimbursement: Covers the cost of a rental car if your vehicle is being repaired due to an accident. Customers can choose a level of coverage based on their rental needs and budget. Rental reimbursement is only available to policyholders with both comprehensive and collision coverage.
• Roadside Assistance: Pays for the cost of flat-tire repairs, lockout services, and towing.
• Glass Repair: Free of charge to policyholders who have purchased comprehensive coverage. If the glass needs to be completely replaced, however, you will have to pay a deductible.
• Pet Protection: Pays your veterinarian bills (up to $1,000) if your pet is hurt in a car accident. This benefit is only available to policyholders with comprehensive and collision coverages. Residents of Illinois and Virginia are not eligible.

Metromile does not offer rideshare insurance, commercial auto insurance or other forms of specialty auto insurance. Details and availability of the extra coverage options it does have vary by state.

Sample Metromile Insurance Quotes

Age	Clean Driving Record	Poor Driving Record
21	$370 / month	$530 / month
30	$187 / month	$265 / month
42	$194 / month	$279 / month

Premiums may vary by state and by the level of car insurance coverage you decided to purchase. Learn more about how we obtained these sample quotes in the Methodology section at the end of the review.

Metromile Insurance Discounts

Metromile has a discount for insuring more than one car on the same policy but does not provide details about the amount customers may be able to save. That is the company’s only major discount, as its pay-per-mile model is designed to provide low rates by default.

Metromile Insurance vs. Popular Alternatives

Insurer	Metromile	GEICO	Esurance	Progressive
Average Annual Premium	$3,396	$3,546	$3,213	$3,422
WalletHub Ranking (total of 46 companies)	16th	21st	12th	17th
Complaints Score (lower is best)	3.0	0.84	1.05	0.70

Methodology

In order to determine Metromile car insurance’s ranking in the auto insurance industry, WalletHub’s editors evaluated the policies offered by the largest, most popular car insurance companies in the United States. We assessed the relative strengths and weaknesses of each company, along with the types of drivers each is best positioned to serve.

Specifically, WalletHub’s Metromile car insurance rating is based on several key factors that are important to auto insurance shoppers.

• Customer reviews
• Watchdog ratings
• Coverage options
• Coverage limits
• Claims process
• Customer service
• Cost
• Transparency

To gauge the level of customer satisfaction at Metromile and other companies, WalletHub sets a complaints score for each insurer. This score is the ratio of each insurer’s share of all U.S. car insurance complaints over its share of annual premiums for personal auto policies. In other words, the complaints score reflects the number of complaints adjusted to the size of the car insurer. This adjustment is necessary, as larger companies tend to receive more complaints.

Assumptions for Metromile Auto Insurance Quotes:

• Gender: Male
• Marital Status: Single
• State: California
• Car: Honda Accord
• Comprehensive Deductible: $250
• Collision Deductible: $500 (deductible waiver add-on included)

Coverage Type	Coverage Limit
Bodily Injury	$100,000/person $300,000/accident
Property Damage	$50,000
Medical Payments	$5,000
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (Bodily Injury)	$30,000/person $60,000/accident

For price comparison, WalletHub collected quotes from major auto insurers for at least 30 cities in California. We obtained quotes from the state regulator’s database for drivers varying in age and driving record. In the sample quotes, a poor record assumes at least one at-fault accident or one traffic violation. California was chosen given that it is the most populous state in the U.S., and it lands in the middle of WalletHub’s price rankings for car insurance.

For more car insurance research, check out WalletHub’s 2019 Cheap Car Insurance Study. And if you have experience with Metromile Insurance that you think might help other consumers, you can also write a review for Metromile Insurance.

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


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