MetroMile Brings Pay-Per-Mile Insurance, Connected Driving Platform to Illinois

CHICAGO, March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MetroMile today announced that it is expanding its connected driving platform to drivers in Illinois. Customers who sign up for MetroMile will receive access to the full set of services designed to save drivers time and money, including MetroMile's free Metronome device and mobile app, and the world's most democratic insurance option – the nation's only pay-per-mile auto insurance policy. Illinois joins California, Washington, and Oregon as states currently offering MetroMile's services.

MetroMile created its pay-per-mile car insurance product in response to the trend that while U.S. drivers are driving less – travel on all roads and streets dropped roughly 3.1 billion miles in February 2013 compared to February 2012 (U.S. DoT) – traditional insurance companies have not adjusted the way they charge their customers.

A new survey from MetroMile found that this trend is consistent with Chicago-area drivers – more than half (51 percent) of adult drivers in the metro Chicago area drive less than 10,000 miles a year. For adults 18-29, this was true for 60 percent of respondents. Designed for those who drive less than 10,000 miles a year, MetroMile saves the typical customer more than $400 annually.

"We are excited to bring the first huge shift in auto insurance in years to drivers in Chicago," said MetroMile CEO Dan Preston. "MetroMile's pay-per-mile car insurance is the first step in empowering urban drivers to own a vehicle under their own terms. Our free Metronome device and iOS app also provide drivers with prescriptive advice to save them time and money. Our goal is to serve as an advocate for drivers, unlocking the data in their cars to help them to take control of the costs and time associated with owning a car. Over time, we will be launching additional services that deliver on this mission, and provide practical solutions to some of the largest challenges of urban car ownership. We are fundamentally rethinking the relationship between car and driver to make it simpler, easier, and less expensive."

In addition to its flagship car insurance product, MetroMile offers a free iOS app that provides drivers with predictive insights to help them save time and gas on their daily drives, easily diagnose check engine lights, and find their car wherever it is parked. MetroMile customers simply plug MetroMile's free connected car device, the Metronome, into the OBD II port of their vehicle. The Metronome captures data from the car, and transmits it wirelessly to the MetroMile platform.

The predictive services MetroMile offers were created in response to the same types of driver pain points that were raised in the results of MetroMile's consumer survey. For instance:

• Half (50%) of respondents make more of a conscious attempt to drive less than they did five years ago
• More than half (57%) of respondents cited high gas prices/desire to save money as the primary motivator for reducing their driving
• Nearly 30% (29%) of respondents have used public transportation at least once a month within the past year
• Sixty-six percent of respondents would consider using a pay-per-mile car insurance model versus the traditional flat-rate model
• Sixty-two percent of respondents cited traffic as their biggest frustration when it comes to driving in Chicago

"We know that people living in cities typically drive less than half the national average. The survey results show Chicago-area residents are also making a concerted effort to reduce their driving even further, due to the cost of gas," Preston said. "We created MetroMile to address these exact challenges, from reducing the cost of vehicle ownership through our pay-per-mile car insurance product to reducing the time spend in traffic through the predictive recommendations delivered through our free mobile app. We believe that driver data is one of their most valuable assets – it is MetroMile's mission to put that data back into drivers' hands to help them save time and money."

This survey was conducted online on behalf of MetroMile in February 2014 among 1,333 car owners and lessees over 18 years old in the Chicago/Naperville/Joliet metro area. 

About MetroMile
MetroMile is building a revolutionary platform for services built around the needs of drivers – from useful driving data and insights to an entirely new pay-per-mile car insurance model. MetroMile technology combines hardware, software, and cloud-based infrastructure to access, analyze and manage driving data at a massive scale. Over time, the company plans to harness the power of its predictive modeling expertise to make all aspects of driving and owning a car simpler, less expensive, and more convenient. MetroMile is located in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit www.metromile.com.

SOURCE MetroMile