Did you know that many car insurers will look at your credit score before determining what your premium rate will be? In fact, a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision, ruled that Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm exceeded her authority when she banned insurers from using credit scores to determine insurance rates.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explained that “A higher credit score means you are likely less of a risk, and in turn, means you will be more likely to get credit or insurance — or pay less for it.” So even if you’ve never had an accident or gotten a ticket for a moving violation, if you’ve missed some bills in the past, you may be paying more for your car insurance than someone who’s got a better credit score than you, even if his or her driving record isn’t as good as yours.

If you’re shopping around for insurance, you should check with insurers or agents to determine whether or not your credit score will determine your insurance rate, and, if so, to what extent. If you’ve got a good credit rating this could mean a discount. But if you’ve got a bad credit rating, it could mean a higher premium, according to the FTC.

When you get auto coverage, ask the insurance company or your broker if you are getting the best premium rates. If not, ask why.

If a company does refuse to insure you, under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the insurer and creditors must give you a notice explaining why your application was rejected, or they must let you know that you have the right to learn why you were rejected within 60 days of being rejected. If you were rejected and want to know why, ask the insurer to be specific, the commission said. It added that the insurer, as well as creditors, may not give “indefinite and vague reasons for denial.”

If an insurance company explained that you were denied because you were too close to your credit card limits, the FTC advises you to pay down your cards and reapply for the insurance. If you were turned down for insurance because of other credit reasons, the FTC suggests you ask the potential insurer whether or not a credit scoring system was used. If the insurer used a credit scoring system, ask the insurance company how it was used, and how you could improve your application.

Many auto insurance policies include roadside assistance options as part of their package. If you are not already a member of an auto club that has roadside assistance for its members, you should consider going with an insurance policy that includes it. Even if you don’t feel you drive very often, you still travel thousands of miles yearly, and there is always the possibility that you could blow a tire or run out of gas on one of those miles.

You should make sure that you always carry your insurance card with you in the event that something unexpected happens, and take the time to ensure that this card has the number you need to call to contact roadside assistance.

Remember that there may be several different roadside assistance organizations in your area that your insurance company may use, and these sometimes contract their assistance calls out to organizations like AAA. This means that assistance through insurance companies, while reliable, may take a bit longer to arrive, and during that time, you may be able to solve the problem on your own. So, if you encounter a simple setback like a blown tire, it is often better to attempt to remedy the situation yourself instead of calling. Additionally, your insurance rates may go slightly up if you use roadside assistance often, which is a further incentive to only use it in cases of a real emergency.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the services that come with your roadside assistance package. At the very least, it should include towing services, opening locked car doors, jump starting your battery, and fixing flat tires. Keep in mind as well that some roadside assistance plans simply offer reimbursement for some services, such as towing, so make sure you know whether or not you will need the money to pay for the service up front before you make the call. Also make sure that you know the extent of the coverage of this plan. Some roadside assistance will actually cover you in any car you are driving, whereas other plans require that you have to be in the car you have insured in order to receive assistance.

Like riding in a taxi where you only pay for the miles you travel, pay-as-you-drive-and-you-save, or P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S., insurance is a great way to save a little cash, but it also stands to greatly improve the public sector as well. Everything from cost of maintenance for infrastructure to crash and congestion reduction benefits have been shown to be positively influenced by P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S. insurance, and the individually insured consumer has reported significant savings on high priced gasoline and reduced monthly premiums.

Looking to the private sector, results from a recent study, published at the National Rural Summit on Traffic Safety Culture by Allen Greenberg of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, show that for every mile driven, the consumer stands to save an average of 21.9 cents. So, for every 5 miles you drive, you’re saving a little over a dollar, compared to traditional flat-rate insurance programs. This number was conceived by adding the estimated savings of reduced insurance premiums (6.7 cents) with pre-tax gasoline savings (15.2 cents). This figure varies from state to state, but as an average, it illustrates the profound impact P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S. insurance is making on the competitive market.

Turning to the public sector, P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S. insurance has had much more of an impact in several different arenas. One that has received a lot of attention is the correlation between P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S. and a reduction in green house gas emissions. By creating new government enforced incentives, P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S. insurance was “shown to be far more cost effective than the average Federal transportation emissions reduction program, expenditure, and to the cost of providing new infrastructure,” said Greenberg.

Also, there is a huge spike in savings as it pertains to the public sector when dealing with crash and congestion reduction benefits.

Because P.A.Y.D.A.Y.S. insurance works through a monitoring system that records the miles you drive crashes can be monitored as well. The study shows that under pay-as-you-go insurance plans the public stands to save approximately 2.4 cents for every mile driven.

When you think about all the people driving out there, these estimated nickels and dimes quickly add up to very substantial savings.