Dodge diesel-electric hybrid prototype
Are tree-hugging, middle-age owners of hybrid vehicles a better risk than drivers of ordinary autos? St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc. is betting they are.
Travelers, the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in the United States, is giving a 10 percent discount on auto insurance to hybrid owners beginning in February. It is the first auto insurer to implement such a discount nationwide.
[Greg] Toczydlowski, the Travelers executive launching the program, said he had found that drivers tend to use hybrids to commute between home and work and generally stay within speed limits, thereby reducing some of the risk associated with driving a motor vehicle.
According to Travelers, hybrid owners it insures are typically married, aged 41 to 60, with both genders represented equally.
Probably better educated than the average driver, as well. Likely to spend some time researching before decision-making — instead of trotting out to your friendly neighborhood SUV store after a Hummer commercial.
“… typically married … with both genders represented equally.” Except in San Francisco.
My tree-hugging prius is coming this month. I hope State Farm gets the same idea about discounts.
Driving in neutral probably leads to fewer accidents. But if it leads people to drive more hybrids, then this won’t work. It’s probably that people who are choosing hybrids are a little safer, not that the cars themselves are safer.
This will last until someone figures out how to soup up a hybrid, Nascar gets into it and away we go.
I think what you’re really looking at is that people who buy hybrids tend to be wealthier, in more stabile jobs, and have others that they care for (spouse, children, etc.). This tends to make people take fewer risks when it comes to safety so they tend to have fewer accidents.
Like AB CD said, it isn’t that the cars are safer, its the owners are less self-destructive.
Not much news here. The type of car that you drive has always been a huge part of the calculation for your insurance rates, not the price of the car itself. High powered sports cars are more likely to be driven more ‘agressively’ than regular family cars, hence the much higher insurance premiums for the sports car.
Hybrids as a car class are probably driven more gently than the average car, and hence are involved in less accidents, which just plain applies to the insurance rate calculations.
If any news, it’s that hybrids cost less to insure based on sufficient history to adjust the insurance tables.