Metromile Auto Insurance Reviews (2026): Cheap Pay-Per-Mile Rates From a Brand That No Longer Sells New Policies
Key Takeaways
- Metromile has not written a new policy since Lemonade closed its acquisition in July 2022. Existing customers are being migrated to the Lemonade Car brand, and new shoppers who visit Metromile’s site are redirected to Lemonade, according to Quote.com and AutoInsurance.com.
- When it was actively selling policies, Metromile charged a base rate around $29 to $30 a month plus a per-mile fee that ran roughly $0.06 to $0.34 depending on the driver and state, per Clearsurance and ValuePenguin.
- Complaint volume stayed elevated for most of Metromile’s run. The NAIC complaint index has been reported anywhere from about 3 times to nearly 17 times the level expected for an insurer its size, depending on the year and the source pulling the data.
- Review sites split hard by channel. Google reviewers rated Metromile 4.4 out of 5 and Clearsurance users gave it 4.12 out of 5, while Trustpilot (around 2 out of 5) and the Better Business Bureau (2.06 out of 5) lean negative.
- If you want pay-per-mile coverage today, Lemonade sells it directly in Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, and similar programs are available through Nationwide SmartMiles, Allstate Milewise, and Root.
Metromile built its pitch around a simple idea: pay for the miles you actually drive instead of a flat rate built for an average commuter. That model earned it a loyal following among retirees, remote workers, and city dwellers who left their cars parked most of the week. When you’re reading a Metromile insurance review in 2026, the most important fact belongs up front: Metromile stopped selling new auto insurance policies after Lemonade acquired it in 2022, so this review covers what the company offered, how it performed for real customers, and where to go now if you want a similar setup.
Coverage of Metromile insurance is scattered across sources written at different points in its wind-down, which makes the story easy to get wrong. Quote.com and AutoInsurance.com both confirm that Metromile no longer issues new policies and that Lemonade now handles pricing and underwriting for the book of business. WalletHub and Insurify reviewed Metromile as a standalone company and rate it lower than the market average, largely on complaint volume and its narrow eight-state footprint. NerdWallet and The Zebra now frame Metromile mainly as a jumping-off point to compare pay-per-mile alternatives. Where the sources agree: rates were genuinely cheap for low-mileage drivers, and customer service complaints were a persistent weak spot long before Lemonade entered the picture.
Metromile insurance pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Base rate as low as $29 to $30 a month for low-mileage drivers | No longer accepting new customers as of 2026; redirects to Lemonade |
| Full coverage ran 16% to 22% below average for drivers under 10,000 miles a year, per ValuePenguin’s analysis of California Department of Insurance data | NAIC complaint index has run several times the expected level for an insurer its size |
| 17-day Ride Along trial let drivers estimate their bill before committing | No accident forgiveness; a single at-fault accident has pushed renewal rates up around 61% |
| Simple app for claims, trip stats, and mileage tracking | Only ever available in eight states |
| A- financial strength rating from AM Best while it operated independently | No gap insurance and a thin discount list compared with major carriers |
Is Metromile still selling car insurance?
No. Lemonade completed its acquisition of Metromile, the insurance company behind the pay-per-mile model, in July 2022. The deal handed Lemonade an insurance entity licensed in 49 states, more than $155 million in cash, and Metromile’s telematics technology, according to Lemonade’s own announcement. Metromile’s stock stopped trading on Nasdaq the same day. Lemonade said at the time that the Metromile brand would “sunset over time” as policyholders moved onto the Lemonade Car platform, and that transition has continued through 2026. If you visit Metromile’s website or app today, you’ll be routed to a Lemonade quote instead. Metromile’s former CEO, Dan Preston, moved into a strategic role at Lemonade after the deal closed.
How much did Metromile cost?
Metromile car insurance priced policies on two pieces: a flat base rate that covered the car whether you drove it or not, and a per-mile rate that only applied to miles actually driven. Sources differ on the exact numbers because rates varied by state, driving record, and the point in time the review was published. Clearsurance put the starting point at around $30 a month plus 6 cents a mile. WalletHub cited a base rate starting at $29. AutoInsurance.org and Quote.com reported later starting points of $41 and $58 a month respectively, which likely reflects rate increases and the shift to Lemonade’s pricing model after the acquisition.
Mileage was the most important factor affecting the cost of insurance for Metromile customers. ValuePenguin’s analysis of California Department of Insurance data found Metromile’s full-coverage rates ran 22% below average for drivers logging 5,000 to 7,500 miles a year, and 16% below average for 7,600 to 10,000 miles. That advantage shrank fast as mileage climbed: for drivers putting 12,500 to 16,000 miles a year on their car, Metromile’s rate was only 6% below average and still cost $340 more annually than the cheapest option, State Farm. AutoInsurance.com cited an average annual rate of $782, less than half the national average of $1,924, for the low-mileage drivers Metromile was built for. Age and driving record still moved the needle regardless of mileage. Quote.com found that a traffic ticket raised Metromile rates the least among common violations, while a DUI raised them the most, and WalletHub reported that customers without accident forgiveness saw renewal increases around 61% after a single at-fault accident.
The Metromile Pulse device
Metromile tracked mileage through the Metromile Pulse device, a small plug-in that connected to a car’s OBD-II port and reported miles driven, trip data, and basic vehicle health information back to the app. The Pulse device is also where most of the technical complaints originated. Drivers on Trustpilot described connection drops that Metromile flagged as a “no signal” charge, along with battery drain on older vehicles, particularly with the version of the device that plugged into the lighter port instead of the OBD-II port. Returning the Pulse device after canceling a policy was a common step reviewers flagged to avoid an equipment fee.
Customer ratings by source
| Source | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| WalletHub (editorial) | 2.2 to 2.8 out of 5 | Score varies by publish date; dinged for limited state availability and complaint volume |
| Google Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 | Nearly 4,000 reviews logged, per Agency Height’s aggregation |
| Clearsurance | 4.12 out of 5 | Based on Metromile’s own customer community; skews toward drivers who saved money |
| Trustpilot | Around 2 out of 5 | Complaints cluster around device connectivity and unresponsive claims adjusters |
| Better Business Bureau | 2.06 out of 5 | Metromile is not BBB accredited |
| NAIC complaint index | 3x to nearly 17x expected volume | Reported figure varies by year and reviewer; consistently above the baseline of 1.0 |
Sample rates and ratings only; actual quotes vary by state, vehicle, driving record, and other factors.
Coverage options and discounts
Metromile sold the standard package most drivers need to meet state minimums and add real protection: bodily injury and property damage liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Optional add-ons included roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement, and pet injury coverage up to $1,000 in most states. Two coverages were notably absent: gap insurance, which pays the difference between a car’s value and a remaining loan balance, and accident forgiveness, which is why a single at-fault accident hit renewal rates so hard.
The discount list was short compared with a major carrier like Geico or State Farm. Metromile offered a multi-car discount for insuring more than one vehicle, an anti-theft device discount, a bundling discount for customers who also held a Lemonade renters or homeowners policy, and a Ride Along discount worth up to 40% off an initial quote for drivers who demonstrated safe habits during the trial period. That Ride Along program let a prospective customer download the Metromile app and track their actual driving for 17 days before buying anything, which produced a realistic price estimate instead of a generic quote.
Customer complaints and the claims experience
The complaint pattern shows up consistently across independent sources, not just disgruntled reviewers. Compare.com reported Metromile’s NAIC complaint rating at 7.19 times the national average. A separate WalletHub profile put the figure at 16.71. Clearsurance described it as roughly three times the volume expected for an insurer Metromile’s size. The exact multiple moves around because it depends on which reporting period a given site pulled, but every source lands well above the industry baseline.
The complaints themselves cluster around two issues. The first is claims handling. Metromile’s customer service team drew the bulk of the negative reviews on Trustpilot and the BBB, mostly over slow response times once a claim was already filed. reviewers describe long hold times and disputes over trip data the mileage tracker recorded. One Trustpilot reviewer described a claim involving an uninsured driver that went unresolved for close to three months. The second is renewal pricing. Customers reported base rate and per-mile increases of 50% to 70% at renewal, even with a clean driving record. One WalletHub reviewer’s base rate rose from $76.26 to $115.63 a month, with the per-mile rate climbing from 14.8 cents to 23.4 cents at the same renewal.
What pay-per-mile insurance looks like now
Metromile’s exit left a real gap for low-mileage drivers, but it didn’t close the pay-per-mile category. Lemonade sells its own pay-per-mile product directly in Arizona, Oregon, and Washington, with traditional (non-mileage-based) coverage in Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas, according to Insurify. Nationwide’s SmartMiles program combines a base rate with mileage tracking similar to what Metromile offered, and it includes a road trip exception that limits mileage charges on longer drives, which Metromile never offered. Allstate’s Milewise program works the same way through a larger, more widely available carrier. Root doesn’t price strictly by the mile, but it weights driving behavior heavily enough that very low-mileage, careful drivers often land on a comparable rate.
Worth noting: Lemonade itself doesn’t carry an AM Best financial strength rating, and J.D. Power did not include the company in its 2024 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, according to Insurify. That’s a gap for shoppers who leaned on Metromile’s independent A- AM Best rating as a signal of financial stability before the acquisition.
Who Metromile worked best for
The clearest fit was a driver logging under 10,000 miles a year, especially under 7,500, with a clean record and a car parked most of the week. Remote workers, retirees, and second-car households in one of Metromile’s eight states (Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington) got the strongest version of the discount. The math flipped for anyone with a longer commute. A driver logging 12,500 to 16,000 miles a year saved little to nothing, and past roughly 16,000 miles most drivers did better with a standard policy from a mainstream carrier. Young drivers also saw the model work against them: ValuePenguin cited a 20-year-old Los Angeles driver quoted a $144 base rate plus 34 cents a mile for full coverage, well above the $3,816 national annual average for that age group once mileage was factored in.
Frequently asked questions
Is Metromile legit?
Yes. Metromile operated as a licensed insurance company from 2011 until its 2022 acquisition, and Lemonade, its current owner, is a publicly traded company (NYSE: LMND) that continues to service former Metromile policies. The complaint volume was genuinely high relative to company size, but that’s a service quality issue, not a sign the company was fraudulent.
Why was Metromile so cheap?
Metromile was less expensive for many drivers because it only charged for miles actually driven on top of a low base rate, so a car that mostly sat parked cost far less to insure than it would under a flat-rate policy. The savings shrank or disappeared for drivers who logged average or above-average mileage.
Is Metromile owned by Lemonade?
Yes. Lemonade acquired Metromile in a stock deal that closed in July 2022 and has been transitioning Metromile policyholders onto the Lemonade Car platform since.
Can I still get a Metromile quote?
Not under the Metromile name. Visiting Metromile’s site or app now routes new shoppers to a Lemonade quote instead. Existing Metromile policyholders can still manage their coverage, but the brand isn’t writing new business.
What is the Metromile customer service number?
Existing Metromile insurance customers can reach support at 1-888-242-5204, or file a claim at 1-888-595-5485 or through the Metromile app. Anyone trying to buy car insurance for the first time will be redirected to Lemonade instead, since Metromile itself no longer issues quotes.
Does Metromile have accident forgiveness?
No. Metromile never offered accident forgiveness, which is why customers without it saw renewal rates jump around 61% after a single at-fault accident, according to WalletHub.
The bottom line
Metromile’s pay-per-mile model delivered real savings for the low-mileage drivers it was built for, and the underlying idea was sound enough that Lemonade, Nationwide, and Allstate have all kept versions of it alive. But the brand itself stopped selling insurance in 2022, complaint volume ran high for most of its run, and its main modern relevance is as a case study in how usage-based pricing works rather than an option you can actually buy today. If you drive under 10,000 miles a year and want that kind of pricing, get quotes from at least three carriers before you buy car insurance, including one pay-per-mile specific option like Lemonade, Nationwide SmartMiles, or Allstate Milewise, alongside a mainstream provider that offers a low-mileage discount. Rates for the same driver and the same car can vary by hundreds of dollars a year between insurers, and the only way to know which one wins for your specific mileage and state is to compare actual quotes side by side.
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