If You Moved, It’s Time to Check Your Car Insurance Rate

Over the past year and a half, many Americans have moved homes, even temporarily, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased flexibility with work. Whether you have moved for a new job, convenience, a change of scenery, or to be closer to family, there’s one thing you want to make sure you do: check your auto insurance rate.

Many Americans are missing out on savings or paying too much now that their lifestyles and driving habits have shifted.

Getting Auto Insurance After You Move | Metromile

Here’s why now may be the best time to check your current car insurance rate and shop around.

Millions of Americans moved during the COVID-19 pandemic

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many of our lives. It’s not just our health and social norms that have changed during this time. The pandemic has also created considerable shifts in workplace culture and moving trends. 

Many people went from commuting to an office to working from home. Remote work has opened up new ways of living and working and prompted people to move closer to family or escape cities with high rates of COVID-19 infection or living costs.

Nearly 16 million Americans moved from February to July 2020, according to MyMove.com’s Coronavirus Moving Study, and the trend is likely to continue.

Neighbor’s 2020-2021 American Migration Report projects the number of Americans moving in 2021 will surpass last year’s totals. The report found that 20% more people plan to move in 2021 than 2020, primarily for job flexibility and the desire for a lower cost of living.
Notably, job flexibility wasn’t as easily accessible before the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rise in remote work and flexible work schedules, people feel more confident they can work from home and seek new places to live.

Driving habits have also shifted because of the COVID-19 pandemic

With many people now working from home or staying at home because of shelter-in-place orders and other public health guidelines, how Americans drive has changed.

A December 2020 Pew Research study found that 71% of workers were performing their jobs at home full-time or most of the time. As a result, commuting is no longer as commonplace as it used to be, and when Americans travel for work, they may be driving differently.

When COVID-19 was first declared a pandemic in March 2020, the number of miles driven across the country dropped dramatically. Recent analysis of Metromile customers nationwide found that people drove 30% fewer miles between April and December 2020 compared to the same period from the year before. Similarly, cumulative travel in 2020 reduced by 5.4%, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Pay-per-mile auto insurance can help

Your lifestyle can affect the price you pay for auto insurance. For example, if you moved to a new area and now park your car in a new ZIP code, your premium may change. If you drive less than you did before, pay-per-mile auto insurance could help you save money.

Pay-per-mile car insurance is a type of usage-based insurance that considers how much you drive.

People who drive less than the national average of about 37 miles a day (most Americans!) are low-mileage drivers and could save with pay-per-mile auto insurance.
Metromile could save you $741 a year on average if you’re a low-mileage driver, according to a 2018 survey of new customers who switched to Metromile and saved. With Metromile, you’ll pay a low monthly base rate and then a few cents for each mile you actually drive. Pay-per-mile auto insurance helps to give you control over the price you pay for your car insurance coverage.

The bottom line

If you’ve moved over the past year and a half, it’s time to check your car insurance rate. Your rate may change based on where you live and your driving habits, and you could score a lower rate

Get a free auto insurance quote with Metromile, and you can see how much you might save.



Melanie Lockert is a freelance writer, podcast host of the Mental Health and Wealth show, and author of Dear Debt. She’s a cat mom to two jazzy cats, Miles and Thelonious, an amateur boxer, music lover, and needs coffee to function.