Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Why it pays to become a green driver

It's fair to say we'd all like to do our bit for the environment - after all no-one wants to breathe in polluted air and last year's floods emphasised that Global Warming isn't to be taken lightly.
Sadly, there's been one significant stumbling block in our efforts to go green, particularly in terms of greener motoring - cold hard cash.

Electric and hybrid vehicles were previously reserved for an elite minority as the initial outlay of purchasing a green vehicle put them out of reach for most.

Now however, not only are green cars cheaper to buy but initiatives from the Government and car insurance companies are actually rewarding green drivers with money in their pocket.

Firstly the Government has issued road tax bands in which you actually pay based on the level of emissions from your vehicle. Some of the most environmentally friendly vehicles, such as electric and hybrid cars, are exempt from road tax entirely. They are also excluded from congestion charges in inner-city areas such as those in London.

This is supported by progression in the car insurance industry. Previously, green car drivers' hopes of securing cheap car insurance were slim due to the low number of electric and hybrid cars on the road - making them more expensive to repair should an accident occur.

As they become more popular, insurers are lowering their premiums for green car drivers, if for no other reason than they will probably do less mileage than non-green drivers.

With clear savings to be made on petrol and road tax and now cheap car insurance too, there's little excuse not to 'go green' - shop around for green car insurance and you'll be saving more than the environment.



About the Author
LuckySeven is an author specialising in car insurance.

No comments: