Metromile Auto Insurance Review

We ranked Metromile the best cheap auto insurance because its average rates are the most affordable. Metromile is a pay-per-mile car insurance company that uses a device plugged into your OBD-II port to track your driving habits and mileage. Check out the company’s affordable usage-based insurance if you drive infrequently and feel comfortable using Metromile’s technology.

Who It’s Best For

• People who drive fewer than 10,000 miles a year
• People who work from home
• Young drivers

Who It’s Not Best For

• Commuters or people who drive long distances regularly
• Drivers who don’t live in one of the eight covered states
• Drivers with cars made before 1996 or electric vehicles

Pros and Cons of Metromile Auto Insurance

• Comprehensive coverage: Comprehensive coverage from Metromile pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it gets damaged by a fire, flood, hailstorm, animal, vandal, or anything that isn’t a collision. While comprehensive coverage protects you if someone steals your vehicle, it does not cover items stolen from your car (that would be covered by homeowners or renters insurance). States do not require comprehensive coverage, but if you lease your car, your lender will likely require it.
• Bodily injury and property damage liability insurance: Liability coverage pays damages and injuries to people outside of your vehicle. Bodily injury liability may also pay for lawyer’s fees if someone sues you for causing an accident. Property damage liability can include damage to things other than vehicles, like mailboxes. It covers any property except your own vehicle.
• Collision coverage: Collision coverage protects your car if you collide with another object, like another car, a brick wall, or a tree. The deductible amount you choose is the out-of-pocket expense you’ll pay before coverage kicks in.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays for medical, rehabilitation, lost wages, pain, suffering, and funeral costs. This coverage extends to you and your passengers if you’re in an accident where the other driver is at fault but has insufficient insurance to cover the costs.
• Personal injury protection: Personal injury protection coverage, or PIP coverage, covers medical bills for you and your passengers, income loss, funeral expenses, and essential expenses. In some states, it extends to lost wages, child care, and funeral costs. PIP coverage varies from state to state. If it isn’t available, you can choose medical payments coverage instead.
• Medical payments coverage: Medical payments coverage pays the medical deductibles and copayments that your healthcare insurer does not cover.
• Rental car reimbursement: You can add rental reimbursement if you purchase comprehensive and collision coverage. This coverage provides up to $30 per day for up to 30 days after an accident.

The average annual auto insurance rate from Metromile is $662, making it the cheapest insurance provider in the U.S. Its insurance costs less than one-third of the industry’s average annual cost of auto insurance, which is $2,071.

Metromile rates begin at $29 with an average monthly rate of $55. Mileage is the main factor Metromile uses to calculate your rate. Metromile tracks your mileage using a telematics device called Metromile Pulse. This device plugs into your vehicle and transmits driving data through a cell modem, providing you and Metromile with information on your mileage and driving habits.

Vehicle make/model, driving history, age, claims history, coverage changes, and credit score all factor into your per-mile cost. State laws and regulations may also impact rates. In Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Virginia, Metromile uses average speed, time of day, and day of the week to determine the quality of your driving.

In Virginia, Metromile considers time spent per trip when calculating your savings. Metromile tracks habits over time and calculates rates based on trends and averages, not individual data points.

• Lemonade discount: If you have a policy with Metromile’s parent company, Lemonade, whether it’s renters, homeowners, car, pet, or life insurance, you can save on a Metromile policy.
• Multicar discount: Metromile’s multicar discount saves you money on your base rate and per-mile rate. It takes effect as soon as you add more than one vehicle to your policy.
• Safe driving discount: Download Metromile’s Ride Along app and drive with it for 17 days to earn up to an additional 15 percent off your rate when you sign up for a policy with Metromile. The app will track your driving habits and give suggestions for improvement.

Metromile is available in Washington, California, Oregon, Illinois, Arizona, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Metromile has a robust online help center that answers many frequently asked questions about the Pulse device, billing, coverage, claims, and data.

Metromile offers 24/7 virtual customer support via its online chat feature. You can file a claim anytime at claims.metromile.com or by calling 1-888-595-5485. Metromile customer service is available to help you get a quote or start a new policy 7 a.m. through 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, by calling 1-888-242-5204.

Apple iOS users rated the Metromile app 4.7 out of five stars. On the Google Play store, users rated the app 3.6 stars. While you aren’t required to use the Metromile app to be a policyholder, it includes many useful features like digital insurance cards, car health monitoring, and access to roadside assistance. Below are other features we tested from Metromile’s mobile app:

• Filing a claim
• Making changes to your policy, including adding and removing drivers
• Tracking your billing charges
• Checking how much fuel you need for a trip
• Locating your vehicle
• Checking the engine light decoder
• Tracking trips

One unique feature of the Metromile app is street-sweeping alerts. Metromile sends alerts by email, push notification, or text message 12 hours before scheduled street cleanings with a reminder one hour before. This feature is available to customers in the following areas:

• Chicago, Illinois
• Los Angeles, California
• San Diego, California
• San Francisco, California
• Santa Monica, California
• West Hollywood, California

• Better Business Bureau (BBB): Neither Metromile nor its parent company, Lemonade, maintains accreditation with the BBB. Out of 247 customer reviews on the BBB’s website, Lemonade holds three out of five stars, which is relatively high for a customer service rating.¹ Positive reviews praise Lemonade’s customer service and claim fulfillment.

Metromile is a relatively new auto insurance company founded in California in 2011. The company uses telematics and machine learning to provide personalized usage-based auto insurance.

In 2015, Metromile introduced a product called a Tag, which gives non-insurance customers a way to use Metromile’s driving app. The Tag wirelessly connects to smartphones using Apple’s iBeacon technology.

The same year, Metromile expanded with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, and Tempe, Arizona.² In 2016, Metromile acquired a carrier called Mosaic Insurance to start underwriting its policies.³ This acquisition was part of a round of funding totaling $191.5 million, which also allowed Metromile to purchase licenses in all 50 states.⁴ Previously, the National General Insurance Group underwrote Metromile insurance products.

Metromile became a publicly listed company in February 2021. In November 2021, Lemonade announced its plans to acquire Metromile in an all-stock transaction. Lemonade completed the transaction and acquired Metromile in July 2022.

Metromile only offers personal automobile insurance. If you purchase comprehensive and collision coverage, pet coverage is included at no additional charge.

You can cancel Metromile at any time and get a refund for the unused portion of your premium. Metromile does not impose a cancellation fee or penalty for early termination.

If you are in California, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, Pennsylvania, or Washington, call 888-244-1702 Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. through 5 p.m. Pacific Time to cancel your policy. Virginia drivers can fill out an online contact form at www.metromile.com/help/ to proceed with the cancellation.