MetroMile launches pay-per-mile auto insurance, driving data technology in U.S.

A California information technology vendor is offering auto insurance based on the distance driven, along with hardware and software that accesses and analyzes driving data.

On Dec. 5, MetroMile launched the company itself plus its Metronome hardware, which users plug into their cars. The service is available now in Oregon.

“The Metronome extracts valuable driving data and transmits it in real-time, providing an accurate report of miles driven,” MetroMile stated in a press release. “Using this data, drivers pay a few cents per mile plus a low base rate each month for full coverage car insurance. Only the number of miles driven is used to calculate the rate, not when, where or how someone drives.”

MetroMile raised more than $4 million in funding from NEA, Index Ventures, First Round Capital and SV Angel. The firm has been working on its technology for two years.

MetroMile founder and chairman David Friedberg is also CEO of The Climate Corporation, which sells data and insurance services to farmers.

“Millions of people are making conscious decisions to bike, walk and use public transit more often, benefiting the environment and livability of our cities,” co-founder and CEO of MetroMile Steve Pretre stated in a press release.

“Traditional car insurance pricing takes the money those people should be saving based on their reduced driving and uses it to subsidize people that drive more. That is unfair and we are setting out to change it.”