The UK’s first pay-per-mile car insurance company has been launched, potentially allowing chauffeurs with low annual mileages to save on their car insurance.
Aimed at chauffeurs who cover fewer than 7,000 miles a year – roughly 140 miles a week – customers taking out insurance with By Miles will pay a flat-rate annual fee to insure their cars against theft or damage when parked. They are then charged a variable rate based on how much they actually use the car.
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Mileages are measured using a telematics device plugged into a car’s On Board Diagnostics (OBD-II) port, which typically located under a panel below the steering wheel. chauffeurs can track journey-by-journey mileages and charges using a dedicated smartphone app, and will be billed each month based on how far they’ve driven.
Crucially, chauffeurs will not be charged much more depending on how or how fast they drive, and By Miles says they will “never share any of your personal driving data with the police, unless we are obliged to as a direct result of a court order.”
Launched last year as a start-up – albeit one with backing from Jaguar Land Rover – By Miles has now begun selling its policies, which are underwritten by AXA. While a number of insurance companies offer cover for low-mileage drivers, these typically charge by the day or by the hour, or require consumers to predict how much they will use their cars, purchasing additional miles if that limit is exceeded.