Green Car Insurance

Best green car insurance?

Here's some car insurance advice for green cars (and for not-so-green models, too).

One of the many benefits of running a relatively green car is that the insurance should be a whole lot cheaper. And yet, many of the insurance price comparison sites do not offer insurance tailored to the greener cars, such as electric cars and hybrid cars.

Read on below for information on insuring hybrids and electric vehicles.

If you are still stuck with an old fashioned gas guzzler, less carbon-efficient models can also become greener with the help of carbon offsets.

This page looks at a few of the options for green car insurance and where you can obtain good car insurance to suit your pocket, your car - and your conscience.

Off-setting your carbon

As discussed on other pages in this section, car driving adds to your carbon output. In Britain today, emissions from transport accounts for nearly half of each individual's personal carbon footprint. For many people, the majority of their travel arrangements involve the car.

Many other nations have a similar profile. The infrastructure in most western nations favours the car and personal transport over more communal arrangements, such as buses and trains. So, it stands to reason that a good many people who consider themselves as quite "green" are still going to find themselves driving about in cars, even if they would prefer to be using the alternatives.

Further, many would-be green people find themselves stuck with relatively inefficient, carbon-emitting gas-guzzlers. Despite the new government incentives, not everyone is in a position to immediately trade their ride for a greener model.

There are quite a few organisations offering carbon offsets to individuals and companies. For example greenfleet.com offers carbon offsets to Australians. Terrapass does a variety of ecological work in the USA and sells carbon offsets to mitigate the carbon producing activities of citizens. Their work supports local communities and helps improve air and water quality, too.

A part solution for some

Fortunately, some insurance companies have now sprung up which concentrate on offering good insurance deals while off-setting the carbon from your car.

In the UK, The Green Insurance Company is one such. They offer offsets against your individual carbon output as well as insurance for hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius. The amount offset is guaranteed to be 100% of your output from your car, as calculated by the information you input. They also offer some on-line deals to make car insurance cheaper.

They do not yet have any information on electric cars but this looks to be an insurance company which is taking its green brief seriously.

The off-setting method they use is tree-planting in a specially dedicated mixed woodland site in Scotland. They claim to have created 20 new woodlands and also support green initiatives in schools and local communities, mainly in Scotland.

More Th>n is a major British insurer which does not (yet) appear to offer offsetting or electric car insurance but they became carbon neutral in 2006 and work with Together.com to promote greener driving choices.

Sponsored links

Green car insurance for electric and hybrid cars

Specialist companies are starting to spring up to cater for electric cars.

In Britain, the Nice Car Company recommends PlugInsure.com, who insure all the greener cars, including hybrids and ones designed for bio-fuels.

In the USA, Travelers Insurance offers a discount for hybrid vehicles and for enhanced vehicle safety features. 

Electric cars can be surprisingly pricey to insure; prices are almost sure to drop as the safety of electric cars becomes more evident.

The choices available for green car insurance are still rather limited but this is an area which is sure to expand as green cars become more popular.

It may be worth hassling your conventional insurance agent for green car insurance, as increased demand from consumers will eventually result in more provision by mainstream insurers. 

*****

Green Car Insurance Advice - top of page

Green Car - Transport and Fuel 

Greenfootsteps Home - for more easy green living ideas

Green Car Insurance Advice - copyright Greenfootsteps, 2009