Author Topic: pay per mile car insurance  (Read 15071 times)

slugsworth

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pay per mile car insurance
« on: November 19, 2013, 05:03:55 PM »
This was a new vendor to me, it looks like a better option than the other ones I've seen. Thoughts anyone?

http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/19/metromile/
https://www.metromile.com/insurance

Bruised_Pepper

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2013, 05:17:25 PM »
Never heard of it before today, but it sounds like a fantastic idea.  Not just the per-mile insurance, but the access to information re: your driving habits.  I'll bet MMM tries this and writes an article once it becomes available in Colorado. 

It's almost a shame I'm selling my only car tomorrow. 

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2013, 05:24:43 PM »
After many years without a car, I picked up a small hatchback a few months ago primarily for the odd work drive (1 maybe 2x per month) and to get to the mountains. 

 I am hoping that someone is familiar with the device and/or App and can give the $.02 on its functionality.

the fixer

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #3 on: November 19, 2013, 05:31:26 PM »
This looks pretty neat to me. I filled out my info and the break-even point with my current GEICO policy is a little over 600 miles per month. If I drive less than that, I save with MetroMile. I think my annual miles will be at least that much, though, so it won't work for me but if we didn't do so many adventure trips this could save a lot of money.

prodarwin

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #4 on: November 19, 2013, 08:09:31 PM »
Quote
If you drive under 10,000 miles a year, you can buy its insurance to save an average of $400 a year.

Looks interesting.  I'd like to see how it works as it expands.

I don't like that it requires a smart phone (does it require data to be turned on, or can it sync via WIFI when I get home?), and I also don't like that it requires OBD2.

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2013, 04:10:56 PM »
I took the plunge and figured I would give my initial impressions. . .which are really good!

While the sign up is over the internet, I got a call from a real person the next day asking if I had any questions and letting me know I would get the metronome device in the mail.  The OBII device is extremely small and takes about 2 seconds to install. Once installed a little led light indicates that it is on. That is it.  You do not need to have a smart phone or wifi service or anything of the like to use the service.

It takes a few hours for your individual trip to show up on the website (or smart phone I assume, if you have the app; my phone is not compatible at this time) but once it does the webpage provides both a dashboard with basic information on your trip along with much more involved information (including maps of your trip if you have that enabled!). It provides your average MPG, your average trip length and percentage of trips of various lengths , etc, etc, etc. The information it provides is pretty powerful and reminds me of 'mint.com' for my car.

Regarding pricing, I figured it out for me and I am better off with metromile if I drive under 1,162miles per month, which I should pretty much always do.  In any case, I'll report back if my longer term experience is different than this initial one.

El Gringo

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2013, 05:15:50 PM »
I've been waiting for it to come to DC...!

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2013, 05:22:29 PM »
It looks like progressives pay as you go insurance product, snapshot, is available in DC, but I didn't like the notion that they charge based on driving characteristics so I didn't look further into it for myself.

Tami1982

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2013, 05:58:09 PM »
It looks like progressives pay as you go insurance product, snapshot, is available in DC, but I didn't like the notion that they charge based on driving characteristics so I didn't look further into it for myself.

Snapshot isn't pay as you go, it just offers you a discount if you can prove by their standards you are a good driver.  I used it, I didn't get any discount.  Their "hard brake" sensor was crazy sensitive.  I only did it because I'm poor and wanted to save money - even though I was against the invasion of personal information.  It made me really uncomfortable, but I did it, to save money and then I didn't save anything!  ANGER PANTS.

MoneyCat

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2013, 06:25:20 PM »
Big brother is watching you.  And I thought Facebook and Google were bad.  Jeez.

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2013, 06:37:32 PM »
Yeah. . . there are privacy issues with any of these services. I'm comfortable with metromile as they are only using your mileage in determining your rate and have very strong statements about not sharing anything.

Progressive's 'snapshot' takes into account how hard you break, if you drive after the bars close, and the mileage (at least per their website http://www.progressive.com/auto/snapshot-how-it-works/ ) it was a little too big brother for me to try.

Paul der Krake

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2013, 07:24:29 PM »
Argh! This would be perfect for me. Too bad I have a 95, an android phone, and don't live on the west coast. I wonder if/how they cover things such as rental cars and borrowing friends' vehicles though.

lackofstache

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2013, 09:02:00 AM »
Seems interesting, though the major insurance companies are doing similar things. State Farm now uses similar devices to rate drivers for their actual usage & most companies give discounts for low mileage, though I have to imagine a lot of the 70% that will save on this plan just aren't taking advantage of the discounts. Alas it's a moot point, my 94 Ranger can't get any love from devices, so I just suspend my insurance for 2-3 weeks per month & start it back up when I'm gonna drive.

geekette

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2013, 09:08:20 AM »
How do you suspend your insurance?  I thought (and maybe it's per state) that we had to turn in plates to cancel insurance.

El Gringo

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2013, 09:40:50 AM »
How do you suspend your insurance?  I thought (and maybe it's per state) that we had to turn in plates to cancel insurance.

Not sure about lackofstache, but when I suspend my insurance with Geico, I put my car on what is known as "storage insurance". It basically just covers the car for things that might happen while it's parked somewhere but doesn't cover anything that would happen while it's driving on the road. It's a lot cheaper! And then I call up Geico and have them switch it back on when I want to drive.

I just suspend my insurance for 2-3 weeks per month & start it back up when I'm gonna drive.

It works to do it for that short of a time frame? I do it with Geico when I know I'm going to be gone for at least a month. I think it has to be in "storage" for 30 days though for the change in premium to actually apply.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2013, 09:42:50 AM by El Gringo »

dragoncar

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2013, 09:53:18 AM »
I'm interested in this, although I'd need to save a few hundred per year in order to make the privacy issues worthwhile. 

On privacy, I'm of mixed feelings.  I don't like it when this data is collected -- even if the data collector has good policies, a data breach can instantly make it public (and this happens A LOT).  On the other hand, my whereabouts habits etc are fairly easy to obtain anyways.  I carry a cell pone, so att, apple, and who know who else can definitely figure out where I am, where I've been, and how fast I'm getting there.  I would be very surprised if one of those three letter government agencies didn't track it somehow (maybe not directly, but easily obtainable). 

Edit: I signed up for beta testing in CA, free device with reporting features.  But since  not subscribing to the insurance, I can remove the device whenever I want (I'll try a couple trips).  I actually bought one of those obdii or whatever interfaces 10 years ago but was always too lazy to set up a dedicated laptop in my car


I'm a bit worried about it running down my battery.  Any experiences?  There's no reason it would have to be on when the car is off, but I know some such devices have in fact been reported to be a drain
« Last Edit: December 03, 2013, 10:03:25 AM by dragoncar »

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2013, 10:07:57 AM »
Regarding metromile's location/tracking privacy features: "Insurance customers can disable the GPS function by going to their online dashboard, note however that this will also disable certain features of the app. Beta testers who do not have car insurance with MetroMile cannot disable the GPS functionality at this time."

I believe if you disable the GPS, the device is just keeping track of mileage. I decided to leave the GPS function on since, well since I'm not hiding anything and since I'm curious about the metrics it produces. If it isn't useful I'll probably disable it later.

dragoncar

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2013, 12:56:02 PM »
As an aside, how often do you guys update your miles driven?  Do you just take the last year's miles  and report that?  How far off can I be without getting into trouble?  I'm not trying to cheat, but since I rarely drive one road trip down the coast is a significant fraction of mileage.

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2013, 12:58:13 PM »
The device tracks your mileage via odometer/GPS of enabled and uses a cell signal to report it to the insurance company at least once daily. You don't need to report your mileage at all.

dragoncar

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2013, 01:31:32 PM »
The device tracks your mileage via odometer/GPS of enabled and uses a cell signal to report it to the insurance company at least once daily. You don't need to report your mileage at all.

Well most people don't have "the device"

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2013, 01:34:20 PM »
When you sign up for the insurance they mail you the device, and it is mandatory for using metro mile, I believe all of the past peer mule insurance programs use something similar.

lackofstache

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2013, 01:45:01 PM »
How do you suspend your insurance?  I thought (and maybe it's per state) that we had to turn in plates to cancel insurance.

Not sure about lackofstache, but when I suspend my insurance with Geico, I put my car on what is known as "storage insurance". It basically just covers the car for things that might happen while it's parked somewhere but doesn't cover anything that would happen while it's driving on the road. It's a lot cheaper! And then I call up Geico and have them switch it back on when I want to drive.

I just suspend my insurance for 2-3 weeks per month & start it back up when I'm gonna drive.

It works to do it for that short of a time frame? I do it with Geico when I know I'm going to be gone for at least a month. I think it has to be in "storage" for 30 days though for the change in premium to actually apply.

I suspend mine totally, it's called "suspension of coverage" meaning for a short time, the policy usually will be cancelled after 6 months in suspension. People sometimes do it if it's going to be in the shop or not running, I do it when I'm not gonna be driving. It can work for a couple of days, I'm sure their underwriting/service folks dislike me, but it saves a bit & allows me to keep the multi-car discount on my wife's policy.

prodarwin

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #22 on: December 05, 2013, 03:38:11 PM »
The device tracks your mileage via odometer/GPS of enabled and uses a cell signal to report it to the insurance company at least once daily. You don't need to report your mileage at all.

Does it have its cell-signal internals?  I'm confused about how this part works.

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #23 on: December 05, 2013, 03:41:46 PM »
I don't know the specs, but I can say that within a few hours my trips were on the website. Does it matter? However it transmits is 100% contained in the unit and doesn't interact with your phone.

dragoncar

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #24 on: December 05, 2013, 04:27:50 PM »
The device tracks your mileage via odometer/GPS of enabled and uses a cell signal to report it to the insurance company at least once daily. You don't need to report your mileage at all.

Does it have its cell-signal internals?  I'm confused about how this part works.

I don't know the specs, but I can say that within a few hours my trips were on the website. Does it matter? However it transmits is 100% contained in the unit and doesn't interact with your phone.

That's really surprising, I had assumed it would report via bluetooth link on your phone.

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #25 on: December 05, 2013, 05:18:59 PM »
Nope, it is impressive given how small the device is, but I have it exactor zero info about my phone and have blue tooth disabled. I'm assuming it works by sending SMS messages bit that is purely a wild ass guess.

TLV

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #26 on: December 05, 2013, 05:57:16 PM »
For us it would be about 50% more than we're currently paying with GEICO, and with significantly lower liability limits to boot. I think the main reason is that we don't have PIP or uninsured motorist coverage (our car is cheap and we have excellent health coverage through my employer), which their quote doesn't let you opt out of.

I would also worry about them accusing me of fraud, because there are so many days when we don't use the car at all, and as far as I can tell they can't differentiate between a no-drive day and a day when the device was removed from the car. I'd also have to buy a splitter for the OBD-II port, because I'm not giving up my scan-gauge just so they can track me.

William

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #27 on: December 05, 2013, 07:42:30 PM »
Argh! This would be perfect for me. Too bad I have a 95, an android phone, and don't live on the west coast. I wonder if/how they cover things such as rental cars and borrowing friends' vehicles though.

Some '95's got OBDII.  I'm not sure how many but for instance, the Mitsubishi Eclipse second generation was from '95-'99 so for whatever reason Mitsu. was able to put ODBII in the 1995 models.

dragoncar

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2013, 10:02:52 PM »
Nope, it is impressive given how small the device is, but I have it exactor zero info about my phone and have blue tooth disabled. I'm assuming it works by sending SMS messages bit that is purely a wild ass guess.

I just got mine and popped it open.  It has a SIM card.  Maybe I can use it to send free texts? :-P

I'm still worried about battery drain.  The LED blinked a few times when I plugged it in, despite the car being off, no key in ignition.  They're probably smart about this, but given how little I drive the car a drained battery is definitely an issue.

Paul der Krake

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #29 on: December 06, 2013, 06:21:37 PM »
Argh! This would be perfect for me. Too bad I have a 95, an android phone, and don't live on the west coast. I wonder if/how they cover things such as rental cars and borrowing friends' vehicles though.

Some '95's got OBDII.  I'm not sure how many but for instance, the Mitsubishi Eclipse second generation was from '95-'99 so for whatever reason Mitsu. was able to put ODBII in the 1995 models.
Argh, I got excited for a second, stormed out and checked. No luck, OBDI on this particular car. Good to know the 96 cutoff isn't a hard rule though, I shall keep that in mind for future cheapskate mustachian motor vehichle purchases.

mpbaker22

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #30 on: December 06, 2013, 07:29:16 PM »
Seems interesting, though the major insurance companies are doing similar things. State Farm now uses similar devices to rate drivers for their actual usage & most companies give discounts for low mileage, though I have to imagine a lot of the 70% that will save on this plan just aren't taking advantage of the discounts. Alas it's a moot point, my 94 Ranger can't get any love from devices, so I just suspend my insurance for 2-3 weeks per month & start it back up when I'm gonna drive.

I have a state farm device, but you have to pay $10/month, or something like that, to get detailed tracking information sent to you.  They took about $60 off my next 10 months (20%).  It wasn't stated whether that was due to my driving habits or due to the age increase.

William

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #31 on: December 06, 2013, 07:40:42 PM »
Seems interesting, though the major insurance companies are doing similar things. State Farm now uses similar devices to rate drivers for their actual usage & most companies give discounts for low mileage, though I have to imagine a lot of the 70% that will save on this plan just aren't taking advantage of the discounts. Alas it's a moot point, my 94 Ranger can't get any love from devices, so I just suspend my insurance for 2-3 weeks per month & start it back up when I'm gonna drive.

I have a state farm device, but you have to pay $10/month, or something like that, to get detailed tracking information sent to you.  They took about $60 off my next 10 months (20%).  It wasn't stated whether that was due to my driving habits or due to the age increase.

I spoke to State Farm today.  It's free to test the tool out.  I believe it's free for the first 6 months.  After that, it's $5 a month to run with a max savings then of 30% minus the $5 to have the privilege of using their device.

bearman

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #32 on: December 09, 2013, 10:39:10 AM »
For anyone in Washington state who is looking into this, I compared coverage through MetroMile vs AllState (my current insurer), Geico, State Farm, Progressive and Esurance. While MetroMile was less than the name brands, surprisingly Esurance was significantly less for me, especially when I added both cars, the house and an umbrella policy. I was able to get all that coverage for $904 / year. That said, if you only have one car, are comfortable with the lowest liability coverages, don't drive much and don't have other insurances to bundle, MetroMile is a good deal. Again, just my findings. May be different based on your situation.

dragoncar

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #33 on: December 09, 2013, 12:36:00 PM »
For anyone in Washington state who is looking into this, I compared coverage through MetroMile vs AllState (my current insurer), Geico, State Farm, Progressive and Esurance. While MetroMile was less than the name brands, surprisingly Esurance was significantly less for me, especially when I added both cars, the house and an umbrella policy. I was able to get all that coverage for $904 / year. That said, if you only have one car, are comfortable with the lowest liability coverages, don't drive much and don't have other insurances to bundle, MetroMile is a good deal. Again, just my findings. May be different based on your situation.

Notably, MetroMile doesn't even seem to offer high enough coverage to satisfy the minimum auto coverage for my umbrella policy (300/300)

chicagomeg

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #34 on: January 28, 2014, 02:18:24 PM »
Just an update to this thread, I got an email today that they are allowing IL residents to order the device now & the insurance will be available here within a few months. We're one of two states with 0 regulation on insurance pricing, so I'm going to guess that, plus the urban population center of Chicago, made it a good choice for their next roll out. I ordered the device, even though I don't actually have an iPhone. I've read that you can still access the info through their web portal. I'm not comfortable using one of these devices with my current insurance company (not that Geico offers it anyway), but I think using one to track my driving will be interesting & then I can see if the insurance will save us money or not. We drive a bit more than I'd like to make trips to our parents' town (900 mi. round trip 2 or 3 times/year) plus husband is taking weekend classes about 100 miles away. But, it should be interesting at least.

icefr

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #35 on: March 18, 2014, 04:57:40 PM »
I have shopped PEMCO, Kemper, GEICO, Esurance, Progressive, Safeco, and MetroMile. By going with MetroMile for auto insurance and my current provider for condo insurance, my total cost for the year should be around $770 versus my current $1,500. That's a pretty big difference considering that I was at $2,000 for insurance just a year ago. I will probably continue investigating and eventually make the switch to MetroMile.

(I have a $1,000 deductible on auto, $2,500 on condo, and the highest liability limits with a $2 million umbrella policy.)

I'm just toying with whether to drop the umbrella policy or try to get it with another insurer.

chicagomeg

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #36 on: March 18, 2014, 09:02:19 PM »
I was surprised at how high our rates were. Coverage is available in IL, but we would pay almost double if we drove about 600 mi month. But I love the tracking device, its really neat to see all the data.

slugsworth

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #37 on: September 03, 2014, 05:20:50 PM »
I got an email from Metromile today letting me know that they created an Android App (which I've downloaded) and that they are offering coverage in CA now.

I've had their service now for since November and when I renewed they lowered both my monthly and my per/mile rate. No issues with the device or anything else . . . and fortunately no accidents.

I have had to drive more for work than I was expecting, but I'm still saving over my previous insurance.

gimp

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #38 on: September 03, 2014, 05:41:49 PM »
Today driving monitors are optional to save on insurance, tomorrow they're required to be insured. :|

I vote with my dollar and refuse out of principal.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #39 on: September 03, 2014, 06:04:53 PM »
Today driving monitors are optional to save on insurance, tomorrow they're required to be insured. :|

I vote with my dollar and refuse out of principal.

Meh, your refusal gets you nothing now and isn't going to change a car insurance company's course. You're sending those dollars right into the car insurance company's pockets.

DarinC

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Re: pay per mile car insurance
« Reply #40 on: September 03, 2014, 06:49:05 PM »
Looks kinda neat, but it's about the same as I pay for my regular insurance, which has slightly better premiums.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!