Took the Metro Mile plunge. (Updated)

Tomorrow my State Farms auto insurance policy expires; today my Metro Mile insurance coverage began.  I had been disappointed the last several years as State Farms didn't adopt lower mileage levels to come close to what I drove, so in essence I was subsidizing a lot of other people.  And I was okay with it for many years, except that as I got older and my vehicle lower in value, my rates kept going up.  Mind you, I'd been with State Farms for nearly two decades, and my rate continued to climb.

That's bull crap.

So I switched.  And with my super low driving mileage, the cost savings is about 60% (depending upon how much I drive, with each mile costing $0.03 and a monthly base charge of about $25).  I also get roadside assistance included, which is double-savings after dropping AAA:

• Car has broken down and needs to be towed
• Flat tire needs to be changed
• Battery is dead and needs a jump start
• Locked out of car

I'm not all fawning on them yet, but there's no mistaking the incredible bargain that Metro Mile is, for low-mileage drivers such as myself.

Now mind you, State Farms has a program similar to Metro Mile, which uses a dongle to track your miles driven in real-time, allowing you to lower your rates.  But it was an extremely meager discount, it required years of enrollment to reach the highest discount rate, and tracked all things from your braking to speed to acceleration to time of day you drove, to calculate your qualification for the discount.  Earlier this year when I spoke with my SF rep, she said that very few people had enrolled in it, and I suspect the reason why is because it was intrusively tracking your driving habits.

AFAIK, Metro Mile doesn't track those things.  You can turn GPS tracking on or off.

So, I hope it all turns out well, because I really want to see this sort of pay-go insurance spread (currently it's only available in Oregon), minus the intrusive nature of State Farm's program, that is.  Ultimately it is an incentive to carefully watch one's own use of driving and grouping trips together, which also lowers one's own carbon output.

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Update:

Thought I should post that MetroMile's website makes it clear, "The amount you pay doesn't change based on when, where, or how you drive – just the number of miles you go."  Again, superior to all the others because they track your driving habits, including braking and acceleration.

Also, they have the coolest data interface, allowing you to track your use, if you wish.  Love, love, love this data stuff.

Yep, that's me.  I don't drive often -- 3 days of driving and 6 days of complete inactivity.  I set my goal conservatively too, at 250 miles a month (does not affect how much I pay; just for personal goals), and there's no way I'm going to hit 250 miles unless I go on a short road trip.

So yeah, MetroMile is pretty darn cool.