Taking off in popularity, pod insurance plans for auto owners are, as their name suggests, based on the number of miles you drive your car. The more miles you drive, the higher the premium. The fewer miles you drive, the more you save. In our present economic times, the idea of paying less for this unavoidable expense is quite appealing. However, the pod presents a few disadvantages.

First off you have to allow your use of your car to be monitored. Monitoring your mileage is not free, and you pay those costs, not the insurance company. Especially if you have a GPS device installed, the costs of monitoring can be greater than the savings in your premiums. Moreover, if you change companies, you will have to change monitoring devices, too. That means you should think twice before you change companies just to get what appears to be a lower rate.

Second, the companies that make the odometer tracking devices often charge a monthly fee for transmitting the data. So, not only do drivers have to pay for the odometer tracking device to participate in the insurance program, but they will also have to pay additional fees. Again, this could possibly strip away any savings benefits gained from having pod car insurance.

Additionally, insurance companies would have to develop an entirely new payment structure in order to offer this insurance to their customers. The insurance companies could then easily pass any costs associated with this new payment structure directly onto drivers, again removing any financial benefit gained from pod insurance.

Concerns have also been raised about the data gathered by the odometer tracking devices. Supporters of the insurance model claim the devices will only monitor the mileage necessary to compute the Pod insurance premiums, but that could easily change. The devices could be revamped to gather additional data on drivers, including whether they drive, when and how often. This data could be then be passed along to the insurance providers, who could possibly use this information to justify rate increases for the insurance premiums.

Those who favor pod insurance claim that less driving will result in fewer vehicle accidents. However, the relationship between vehicle miles traveled and accidents isn't entirely proportional. Also, low mileage drivers are not necessarily safer, better drivers. A driver on a pod insurance program can just as easily have an accident as a driver who is on a more traditional insurance program.

On the surface, the cost savings of pod seem quite attractive. Drivers who are considering pod, however, should ask detailed questions before signing up for the plan. Gather as much information as you can to determine whether pay as you go is really right for you.