Should Consumers Pay By The Mile For Auto Insurance?

June 24--WILLIAMSBURG -- or think you are -- every mile you drive increases the risk that you'll encounter someone who's not such a good driver and get in an accident.

"It's only fair that if you drive less, you should pay less," Preston said.

The key to Metromile's system is Metromile Pulse, a device that plugs into your car's computer system and measures how far you drive

You are then charged a small monthly rate plus a rate reflecting you mileage. In the example on Metromile's website, http://www.metromile.com/insurance/, a driver pays a $29.77 monthly fee plus $19.63 for driving 490.7 miles that month at four cents per mile, for a total monthly bill of $48.38. That would be a yearly insurance bill of $580.56, which would seem to bear out the companies claim that "The average Metromile customer saves $500 per year when they switch."

Metromile currently operates in California, Oregon, Washington and Illinois.

In addition to tracking mileage, the Metromile Pulse device offers other services, such as diagnostic trouble codes for you car's health, locating your car in a crowded parking lot, customizable trip logs, mileage tracking for expense purposes and tracking your driving trends.

However, that involves your insurance company knowing where you've been driving as well as how much. In a world where people are becoming more and more concerned about lack of privacy, that could give some people pause.

"Yes, we do gather data on driver location, but that is simply to help them access car location and to provide street sweeping alerts and trip summaries. Insurance customers can turn off location-based (GPS) tracking; if they do so, then Metromile does not have access to your current location or trip location history," said Lauren Hartung of Metromile.

Many auto insurance companies offer low-mileage discounts, typically with mileage capped at 7,000 miles per year. The generally result in about a 2% reduction in rates, according to Insurance.com, an online clearinghouse.

There are other programs, offered by major insurers like Progressive and marketed as "pay-as-you-go" plans that monitor not just mileage, but driving behavior -- how fast you drive, how hard you break and what time of day you drive -- as well. Metromile specifically states that it's rates are based on mileage only.

In that it's following in the footsteps of Milemeter, a Dallas company that went out of business in 2012, citing competition from the major companies, according to insurance.com.

Business notes:

--For the eighth consecutive year, Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc., parent company of Chesapeake Bank, has made the American Banker magazine Listing of the "Top 200 Community Banks" in the United States. The bank ranked at #34 in the nation out of approximately 6,000 community banks in the study. When asked to comment on this Jeff Szyperski, President and CEO of Chesapeake Bank said, "This is a byproduct of what we do every day. While we are proud of this excellent ranking, we continue to keep our focus on what we do best, serving our customers and our communities."

--Cushman & Wakefield -- Thalhimer reported two recent lease transactions. James City County renewed its lease of 12,000-square-feet. in Court Support Building of Courthouse Green at 4093 Ironbound Road.

Rusty Cricket leased 2,490 square-feet in Monticello Shopping Center at 141 Monticello Avenue.

--Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty announces top performers of May in its Williamsburg Office. The top individual listing agent was Sherry Kletzly and the top individual sales agent was Linda Berryman.

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