The automaker is offering the coverage along with the sale of all its new connected cars.
Ford is offering new car buyers an opportunity to use pay per mile insurance to safe money on their auto coverage. As millions of Americans have changed their driving habits and are working from home, there may be an opportunity to save on lower annual mileage.
The automaker is offering the coverage through Metromile start-up auto insurance company.
The partnership between Ford and Metromile may make it easier for drivers to access the pay per mile insurance coverage right from the start. When new car owners sign up for the coverage through the insurer’s app or website, their vehicle’s odometer will automatically connect to the insurer’s software. From that point, it will begin tracking the car’s mileage.
Auto insurers have faced a substantial amount of criticism since March, when the pandemic crisis caused lockdowns, forced many people to work from home and halted many live events, group gatherings and road trips. Major insurers started issuing discounts in the form of refunds, rate cuts and credits since April, to more closely reflect the reduced risk from the lack of driving. However, several class action lawsuits have been filed by consumers who feel the discounts they receive didn’t accurately reflect the reduction in their risk levels.
The Metromile pay per mile insurance has the potential to greatly benefit safe, infrequent drivers.
“Having a product that helps people save money in a time like this is really important,” stated Dan Preston, Metromile CEO in a recent CNBC report. We “build products catered to specific individuals as opposed to insurance products built for classes of drivers.”
Metromile was first founded in 2011. Any driver can sign up for this mileage-based coverage online, regardless of whether they are driving a new car or any other model. According to Preston, its target market is infrequent drivers. That is, their coverage is best suited to the two out of every three driving Americans who drive less than 12,000 miles 
per year. Preston referred to that mileage as the point below which a driver is likely to save money with his pay per mile insurance when compared to traditional auto coverage.
