Are you really fed up with your ever-increasing auto insurance bills? Most people have really no idea why their monthly premiums increase whenever they go for a renewal. If you are just frustrated over swelling auto insurance bills, then here might be some relief for you.
After successful launch in Washington, Illinois and Oregon, Metromile, a San Francisco based insurance company, is expanding its pay-by-the-mile auto insurance to California. In addition to this, the company also unveiled a solid mobile app so that drivers can have insight into their vehicles and trips.
Metromile is mainly targeting their insurance for the two-thirds of American drivers, mainly the people who live in cities, and who rack up lesser than 12,000 miles on the odometer every year. "There's a huge number of people who are overpaying for their insurance," CEO Dan Prestontold Fast Company. As per Metromile, on average, their drivers save around 50%-60%, or about $500 each year, on their policies.
Usually, auto insurance companies profit from low-end drivers, and subsidize high-end drivers with that. Preston says that they are applying a curve so that the amount of margin per customer remains equal across the board. And according to him, this is a better and fairer way to do things.
This isn’t for the first time that the insurance industry has come up with a variable-price model. For instance, Progressive’s Snapshot makes use of a device to track and analyze driving habits, like how often a driver accelerates and adjusts his/her rates accordingly.
Apart from the launch in California, Metromile has also debuted a new app to so that you can check car insight. This app has the capability to track fuel levels, consumptions, vehicle location, and it’s health by communicating with Metronome - a product that you just need to install into your vehicle’s on-board diagnostics port. Like USB port for vehicles, the OBD || port exists on all automobiles manufactured after 1996. If you are driving in any of the mentioned states, you can even request a free Metronome via its website.
If you car is giving you any trouble, the app can help you diagnose the problem. You can also send notes to Metromile’s staff mechanics, who in turn can help you identify the issue and get an estimate.
In Chicago and San Francisco, the app even sends drivers street-sweeping alerts to help them avoid parking tickets. Metromile is thinking of rolling out this feature to other cities as well.
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