However, because these insurance alternatives are relatively new and are based solely on your driving habits, you may not know how switching from a traditional policy will affect your rates — or suit you in other ways.

The quick quiz at the end of this story can help you quickly determine the payoff from taking a test drive with one of these various types of car insurance.

Is your annual mileage low enough to pay-as-you-go?

If you drive fewer than 10,000 miles per year, you're a good candidate for pay-as-you-go car insurance, which is the most basic type of usage-based insurance. Standard car insurance takes into account how far you drive based on your self-reported car mileage, but it also takes into account your age, driving record, and vehicle.

Pay-as-you-go insurance also considers personal factors, but only to determine the base monthly rate for your policy, which is typically between $30 and $60. Then you're charged per mile — typically 4 to 7 cents or so — for how far you drive, as tracked by a smartphone app or an onboard monitoring device.

Let's do the math on a pay-as-you-go plan for the average American driver. That driver drives about 1,100 miles per month and could be charged $65 or so for mileage (at 6 cents per mile) plus a $50 monthly fee. The total cost — approximately $1,400 per year — may or may not be less than what you are currently paying, depending on whether you live in a state with relatively high or low car insurance rates.

However, if you drive less than the average, the benefit of pay-as-you-go billing grows. Traditional car insurance offers discounts to those who drive less, but the savings can be modest — often no more than $100 or so per year for driving 6,000 miles per year rather than 12,000, according to AutoInsuranceQuotes comparison. In comparison, the same decrease in mileage would result in a savings of more than $350 per year for the pay-as-you-go driver described above.

If you drive even less, the savings could be even greater. Traditional insurance frequently does not provide additional discounts for those who drive fewer than 6,000 to 7,500 miles per year. Pay-as-you-go insurance, on the other hand, does so through per-mile pricing. Someone who drives only 200 miles per month could save another $150 or so per year, for a total savings of $500 or more over a standard policy.

Do you drive well enough to try telematics?

Whereas pay-as-you-drive car insurance is concerned with how far you drive, the other type of usage-based insurance is concerned with the quality of your driving rather than the quantity. As a result, it's worth a shot if you drive more safely than most — or at least believe you do.

Monitoring for so-called pay-as-you-drive (or "telematics") insurance includes tracking your mileage but focuses primarily on your driving behavior. The insurer evaluates the risk you pose by recording your speed and how aggressively you accelerate, brake, and corner. It also takes into account the times you drive, with rewards for avoiding trips at night — and sometimes even during rush hour — when accident rates are highest.

Telematics insurance, like mileage-based policies, takes into account the vehicle you drive, as well as personal information such as age, traffic tickets, and so on.

Insurers typically claim that signing up for a pay-as-you-drive policy can save good drivers up to 30% on their premiums. But what if the monitoring — which, like pay-as-you-go insurance, is done via an app or an onboard device — reveals that your driving is less-than-ideal?

Most insurance companies promise not to use bad news against you in order to raise your premium above what it would be with a traditional policy. However, you should inquire about a company's current policy, especially if you're unsure how your driving (or the driving of others in the vehicle) compares to the norm.

Do you want tips to drive better?

Insurers use the driving data they collect not only to set your premiums, but they also send it back to you in reports that detail what you have and haven't done well in your drives.

You may welcome that feedback in order to help you and your fellow passengers drive more safely — and possibly more cheaply. You can, for example, track whether you're taking fewer sharp corners or leaving stop signs at tire-squealing speeds over time.

If, on the other hand, you are prone to resisting or resenting suggestions about your driving behavior, you may find frequent reporting on your driving to be intrusive and annoying.

Are you comfortable with sharing your data?

Pay-as-you-drive insurance may have a disadvantage for some people because the insurer knows when and where they're driving (your location may also be monitored), as well as how well they're driving.

Aside from data sharing, some advocates have raised concerns about how driving data might be used in the event of an accident. “By enrolling in a drive tracking program such as DriveWise or Snapshot, you grant your insurance company permission to use your driving data to resolve insurance claims,” writes Indianapolis attorney John Hensley. “However, this does not guarantee that they will use the information in your favor.” Hensley is concerned that driving data will be used to assign the driver "as much fault as possible," resulting in "smaller settlements."

Can you get a discount just for trying it out?

Are you still willing to experiment with usage-based insurance? Consider beginning your search with your own insurance company.

While shopping for car insurance from multiple providers is generally a good idea, using tools like the one Money provides, switching insurance companies and technologies at the same time may be more than you want to handle. A free trial with your current carrier allows you to test the waters of a new policy type while also earning you a thank-you discount for doing so.

Begin by confirming whether your insurer provides usage-based options in your area. Most major companies provide pay-as-you-drive programs, with a few also providing a pay-as-you-go option.

Farmer's (called Signal), Liberty (Right Track), Nationwide (SmartRide and SmartMiles), Progressive (Snapshot), and State Farm all have national, or nearly so, programs (Drive Safe and Save). Other companies typically provide telematics in five to thirty states, with further expansion planned through 2021.

In most cases, insurers offer their customers a try-out discount of 5% or 10% for a three- or six-month pay-as-you-drive trial. Assuming a six-month period, the average driver who pays $866 in insurance every six months could receive a rebate of $43 or $86 as a thank you for experimenting with telematics.

Insurers cannot guarantee that you will continue to receive a lower rate after the trial because that is dependent on the data they collect. If your rates do drop, most companies limit the size of the reduction to no more than 20% to 40% less than you were paying with traditional insurance.

If your insurer does not provide usage-based insurance, you can always switch to another carrier, such as a dedicated pay-as-you-go provider like Metromile.

In the short term, this may be less appealing than trying out the new insurance with your current insurer. You may not be eligible for a discount for trying out the new policy, and going elsewhere will require you to cancel or pay for your existing coverage with that insurer until you decide whether to stick with the new coverage.