MetroMile: Help Me Get Free Roadside Assistance for One Year


In June, I happened across Metromile, a service that targeted urban drivers who travel 10,000 miles or less in their cars. Their overall goal is to compete with traditional car insurance companies by charging a flat rate, along with a per mile charge.
Rather than having all drivers pay a similar rate of insurance, drivers who used their car would end up paying less. And to help track all this, Metromile offers up a device that plugs in to your car’s diagnostic port and tracks each trip you take.

The interesting thing is that you can sign up for the service for free, without opting in to the insurance aspect of things. By using their Metronome (the device that plugs into your car), you can view your travel history, gas mileage, and also monitor your engine’s health through an iOS/Android app. In some instances, there are city-specific perks: Chicago residents can get automated emails warning them of street sweepings.

I’ve been using the service (though not the insurance) for a while now. We’ve done a great deal more driving lately than we typically do, so I’m opting to leave the Metronome plugged in for a bit longer to see how things go.

I’ve written up a few blog posts about the service and experience (below). If you’re curious and want to give the service a whirl for free… consider using a link from this blog post. I’ll end up getting a year of roadside assistance if you sign up using this link.

Remember that you can get the Metronome device for your car, along with the mobile app, free without having to opt into the insurance. So far, I’ve maybe received just one email reminding me that MetroMile offers insurance, so they’ve not been constantly haranguing me to sign up.

I’m still waiting to see how the numbers play out. Overall, if I can save money and also get a nice app that helps me monitor my vehicle… perhaps it’ll be worth switching away from my current insurance provider. If you’re someone who has a car, but uses public transportation more often than not… consider giving this service a spin.

Related:
Metromile: Tracking Your Car’s Data, and the Advent of Per-Mile Insurance
MetroMile: The Metronome Device Arrives
MetroMile Installation: 2007 Honda Civic

This Post Has 1 Comment

  1. I will say that I still have my reservations about sending so much data to a third party. There is definitely a trade off here, and it’s a question of whether I’m receiving a benefit for the data I am sharing.

    Even if you’re not interested in the service or have privacy concerns, I’d be curious to hear what folks think about this. Is the trade off a good one? Is this too much information to be relaying to another company, however benign they may be in their intentions?

    avoision Reply


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