Smart Auto Insurance Blog

Owners of hybrid cars can get a discount on their auto insurance for being environmentally friendly according to the article “US Hybrid - Auto Insurance Leader Says Being Green Pays” by Lavonne Kuykendall of Down Jones Newswires. 

Farmers Insurance Group offers their customers driving hybrids a 10% discount which they started back in 2005.  The Senior VP of auto for Farmers, Brian Dwyer, believes it was the responsible thing to do according to this article.  The discount was first offered in California which is home to about 25% of all hybrid cars registered in the US. 

Currently Farmers insures approximately 90,000 hybrids in the US which is about 7% of all hybrids sold in the last ten years.  This is according to research from Edmunds Inc.  Dwyer also pointed out that it’s probably good for auto insurance companies and the country if more drivers switched to hybrid technology which combines the use of gas and electric engines to save on fossil fuels, ultimately protecting the environment.  Edmonds shows that about .8% of cars sold in the US since ‘99 are hybrids and in ‘09 hybrids are up to 2.6% of all cars sold in the US.  This increase may seem small over a decade, but it’s movement in the right direction and is very encouraging.

California auto insurance policy holders are in for some good news as California implements a $34 million statewide rate reduction announced by California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner on Wednesday.  This is according to the article “21st Century to cut premiums for California drivers an average of $50″ by Marc Lifsher on LATimes.com. 

21st Century Insurance, which was recently acquired by Farmers Insurance Group, insures over a million California cars.  This is about 5% of the private passenger car insurance market, so this is a big deal that they will be experiencing an average of $50 in cut costs on their auto insurance rates. 

A Farmers Insurance Group spokesperson stated that they were able to drop rates because of less accidents and less severe accidents being claimed over the past years.  Annual dollars saved will average $80 in Los Angeles county, $62 in Sacramento county and $58 in San Francisco.  This is great news as California residents are trying to save money in this challenging economy.