California Proposes Pay-As-You-Go Car Insurance

The state of California is proposing something a little different in an effort to get more cars off the roadways: pay-as-you-drive auto insurance policies. The regulations, introduced by insurance commissioner Steve Poizner, would "base annual rates partly on the exact number of miles driven and would allow people to pay less if they drive less," per the Los Angeles Times. The plan is two-fold: one, many families would save money. From the Times article:

Two out of three households in the state could save an average of $276 per vehicle, and lower-income people, who generally use their cars less than the middle class or the wealthy, might save even more, said a July study by the Brookings Institution in Washington.

The second goal is to give an incentive to drivers to simply drive less, which of course would be a tremendous environmental impact. In fact,

If just a third of California's licensed motorists switched to the plan, it would be the equivalent of taking 10 million automobiles off the road, Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) said.

Insurance companies in the state are happy with the idea, pending some more information. If California does indeed adopt this policy, it will join 34 other states, Canada, Europe, and Japan in offering some form of the policy.You can start getting prepared for this and takepart to visit Drive Less Save More, a website that helps you figure out how to reduce your mileage.