Metromile Car Insurance Review 2024

Metromile car insurance focuses exclusively on pay-per-mile policies. Drivers using Metromile agree to have their mileage tracked because it helps determine their car insurance costs.

Lemonade purchased Metromile in 2022. Metromile policies may eventually be rebranded and transitioned to Lemonade, but currently, existing Metromile customers’ policies remain the same.

Metromile is available in eight states:

• Arizona
• California
• Illinois
• New Jersey
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• Washington

Metromile’s car insurance costs have two parts: a base rate that doesn’t vary month to month and a per-mile rate that does.

If you sign up with Metromile, you’ll pay a calculated base rate for car insurance. Then at the end of your first month, you’ll be charged for the miles driven plus your base rate for the upcoming month.

Miles are measured through “Metromile Pulse,” a telematics device Metromile provides that you plug into your car’s diagnostic port.

In addition to miles measured, in some states Metromile monitors customers’ driving behavior. In Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, Metromile looks at average speed and the time of day and day of the week you drive. In Virginia, Metromile monitors those factors plus the length of drive time per trip. Metromile evaluates these driving patterns to help determine your eligibility for discounts.

Metromile car insurance costs vary depending on how much you drive each month. The fewer miles you drive, the less your monthly bill will be.

With Metromile car insurance, your base rate is the same each month, no matter how many miles you drive, and then each mile driven is charged at a predetermined amount.

For instance, your base rate may be $29 per month, and each mile may be charged at $0.06. In this scenario:

• If you drove 500 miles in a month, your bill for that particular month would be $59, consisting of a $29 base rate + $30 for miles driven (500 x $0.06).
• If you drove 1,000 miles that month instead, your bill would be $89, comprising a $29 base rate + $60 for miles driven (1,000 x $0.06).

Your daily mileage charge is capped at 250 miles per day, except in New Jersey, which has a cap of 150 miles. That means you won’t be charged for miles driven over those amounts in a day, so you can go on road trips without ending up with an outrageous bill.

Metromile’s base rate is based on common factors that affect car insurance rates, such as your location, driving history, claims history, coverage choices and vehicle.

To get an idea of how much Metromile will cost, you can try out its “Ride Along” program. With Ride Along, you download the Metromile app and answer questions to get a quote for your base rate, then let the app monitor your driving for 17 days to determine mileage. You’ll receive an email with a full rate quote after the trial period.

Like other car insurance companies, Metromile sells the following standard types of car insurance:

Liability car insurance

Liability car insurance pays for injuries and damage to others if you’re at fault in an auto accident. It also pays for judgments, settlements and legal fees related to an auto accident you caused if you’re sued.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

Uninsured motorist insurance pays for medical bills and other expenses if you or your passengers are injured in an accident caused by a driver without auto insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage pays medical bills and other expenses for you and your passengers if you’re hit by a driver who doesn’t have enough car insurance to cover damages and injuries from the accident.

Personal injury protection insurance

Personal injury protection (PIP) pays for medical bills, lost wages and replacement services for tasks you cannot perform, such as child care, if you’re injured in an auto accident, regardless of fault. Metromile offers PIP only in New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

Medical payments coverage

Medical payments (MedPay) coverage helps pay for medical expenses for injuries and other expenses you or your passengers received in an auto accident, regardless of fault.

Collision and comprehensive coverage

Collision coverage pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it hits another car or object, such as a pole, regardless of fault. Comprehensive coverage also protects your car by paying for theft and damage caused by non-crash incidents, for example, damage from hail, fire, floods, falling objects, vandalism and animal strikes.

Collision and comprehensive coverage are not required by law in any state, but if you have a lease or loan your lender will usually mandate these coverages.

Other car insurance options from Metromile include:

• Pet injury protection. If your dog or cat is injured in an auto accident covered by your policy, pet injury coverage pays up to $1,000 for vet bills. Pet injury protection is automatically included when you buy a Metromile policy that includes comprehensive and collision coverage—except in Illinois and Virginia.
• Rental car reimbursement. Rental car reimbursement coverage helps pay the cost of a rental car if your car is being repaired after an accident covered by your policy. You must have comprehensive and collision coverage to add on rental car reimbursement coverage.
• Roadside assistance. You can add a roadside assistance plan to cover your vehicle’s towing after a breakdown. Roadside assistance also pays for help with flat tires, battery jumpstarts, gas delivery and unlocking your car.
• Zero deductible glass coverage. Available in some states is a $0 deductible option if your vehicle glass needs to be replaced. Even without choosing the no-deductible glass coverage option, Metromile will waive the comprehensive deductible if the glass needs to be repaired instead of replaced.

No, Metromile does not offer accident forgiveness. Accident forgiveness is an optional coverage offered by some companies that keeps your car insurance rates from rising after an at-fault accident.

No, new car replacement isn’t offered by Metromile. New car replacement insurance generally pays for a new car of a similar make and model instead of the depreciated value of your vehicle if it’s totaled due to a problem covered by your policy, such as an accident or fire. It typically applies only for the first few years after purchasing a new car.

Yes, Metromile offers gap insurance under the name of loan/lease payoff coverage. This coverage is helpful if you owe more on your car than it’s worth.

Gap insurance covers the gap between what you still owe on a car loan and what your insurance company pays for the vehicle if it’s totaled due to a problem covered by your car insurance.

No, Metromile doesn’t offer a diminishing deductible feature. A car insurance deductible is an amount your insurer subtracts from an insurance check for a collision or comprehensive insurance claim. A diminishing deductible is a policy feature that lowers your deductible by a certain amount each year if you keep a clean driving record and avoid accidents.

You choose your policy’s deductible. If you choose a high deductible, your monthly payment will usually be lower.

Yes, if you’re a resident of California or Virginia, Metromile may be able to file an SR-22 for you. SR-22s are not available in any other states with Metromile.

An SR-22 is a document that some drivers must have if they’re considered high-risk. Your insurance company must file the document. SR-22 insurance certifies that you have the minimum required auto insurance in your state.

A Metromile pay-per-mile policy may have an element of usage-based auto insurance, depending on where you live. Metromile monitors driving to measure miles driven, but in some states, it also considers the “quality” of miles driven.

In Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Virginia, Metromile looks at average speed, time of day and day of the week you drive. In Virginia, it also evaluates the time spent per trip. Metromile says the quality of your driving may help you save on your car insurance costs. Metromile does not factor driving behaviors into its rates in other states.

Metromile specializes in pay-per-mile car insurance. Everyone who buys a car insurance policy from Metromile must use the company’s pay-per-mile system.

No, Metromile doesn’t offer rideshare car insurance for people who drive for Uber or similar services.

The primary way to lower costs with Metromile is to drive fewer miles, but other car insurance discounts are available that may further reduce your auto insurance costs. (Availability varies by state.)

Car insurance discounts offered by Metromile include the following:

• Accident-free discount. You may receive a discount if you’ve been without accidents for at least five years.
• Anti-theft devices. Installing an anti-theft device can earn you a discount.
• Bundling discount. You can get an insurance bundling discount if you also have insurance—such as a home, renters, pet or life insurance policy— with Lemonade. This is because Metromile is considered a Lemonade company.
• Claim-free discount. This is for customers who have five years without an at-fault car accident.
• Continuous insurance discount. You can earn a discount if you’ve been continuously covered with car insurance before joining Metromile.
• Full coverage discount. This discount applies when you carry collision coverage on your vehicle.
• Homeowner discount. Savings on your car insurance policy if you own a house, mobile home or condo.
• Multi-car discount. If you insure two or more cars with Metromile, you’ll save money on each vehicle’s base and per-mile rates.
• Paperless discount. Agree to receive policy documents electronically and save them.
• Safe driver discount. Metromile offers reduced rates if you demonstrate safe driving behaviors in some states.
• Senior safe driver discount. For mature drivers age 55 or older who successfully complete an approved safe driver program.

Metromile has a much higher level of auto insurance complaints than other large insurers, based on complaints made to state insurance departments across the country. Metromile complaints are triple the industry average. Metromile’s complaints tend to be related to claim delays, claim denials and premiums.

Metromile specializes in pay-per-mile car insurance and doesn’t offer any other types of insurance. However, Metromile was purchased in 2022 by Lemonade. Lemonade offers renters, home, pet, life insurance and usage-based auto insurance. If you buy a type of insurance, such as Lemonade pet insurance, you can bundle it with your car insurance from Metromile and receive a multi-policy (bundling) discount.

You are not required to use Metromile’s app because your mileage is tracked by the device plugged into your car. And you can review your driving data with Metromile’s online dashboard under your online account login. However, Metromile’s smartphone app has features you may find helpful.

Metromile’s mobile app allows you to:

• Access your digital insurance card.
• Make changes to your policy.
• Review trips taken (see route taken, miles driven, time spent and fuel economy).
• Call roadside assistance (if you purchased it as part of your policy).
• File a claim.
• Be notified of possible issues with your car (through error code alerts and the ability to see what the code means).
• Find your parked car.
• Receive street sweeping alerts to help you avoid tickets. (Available in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Monica and West Hollywood.)