Hybrid popularity soars, but will your auto insurance?

Despite Kermit's claim that it is not easy being green, it seems that drivers disagree.

Interest in the eco-friendlier automobiles continues to grow, with significant leaps in sales during the last couple of years proving the point. How far have we come? Recent reports have highlighted our metamorphosis:

 •  Hybrid sales totalled less than 1,000 per year up to 2004 
 •  Annual sales jumped to 9,000 in the two-year period between 2004 and 2006 
 •  Trends suggest this number will be blown off the lily pad, because in the first 6 months of 2007 hybrid volumes have already reached about 6500 - a 90 per cent increase in volume over the same six months in 2006

Fully-charged, it seems drivers are embracing hybrid vehicles. kanetix.ca wondered if these trends were also reflected in the shoppers that visit the kanetix.ca auto insurance quote comparison service. With this in mind, a study of hybrid car insurance shoppers was undertaken. The data comes to us from the collective group of drivers who completed online auto insurance quotes through kanetix.ca in the first 6 months of 2007.

Hybrid auto insurance quotes at kanetix.ca
So what did the kanetix.ca numbers show? Well, in short, similar growth trends. Compared to the first six months in 2006, the first six months of 2007 showed a dramatic increase in auto insurance quotes which included some form of hybrid vehicle-over 77 per cent.

What would these shoppers have found when comparing auto insurance quotes with a hybrid?

Well, after comparing online quotes at www.kanetix.ca, for the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LS Hybrid, it appears there is no one particular trend when it comes to the insurance rates for these fuel-efficient vehicles. When compared to their gas-powered alter-egos, the cost to insure a hybrid vehicle was neither consistently higher nor lower across the country.

In fact, it would seem that hybrids are like any other vehicle on the road in this respect. One insurer's experience with a vehicle is not likely to be the same as another, which often explains why autos are rated differently among the different insurers. Insurance companies rate vehicles in large part due to their experience on how often they are stolen, how much they cost to repair after an accident, their propensity to be in an accident or the frequency and severity of injuries if in an accident - so it is unlikely that there will be two alike.

Hybrids might not all be treated with the same paint brush, but there are positive trends for hybrid drivers that have emerged and continue to gain momentum. That trend is an insurance discount for drivers of hybrid vehicles. Insurers seem to like the drivers of hybrids as a group and believe they are low-risk. While not all insurers have jumped on the bandwagon just yet, more and more are offering an insurance discount to drivers of hybrids - usually in the range of 10 per cent.

Auto insurance and your hybrid
Because every vehicle - including hybrids - are treated differently by each insurer, you'll want to make sure that your auto insurance premium is the best price you can get. The fact is the kanetix.ca review of hybrid car insurance rates saw instances where a hybrid cost more to insure then their non-hybrid version with one company while with another company, it cost less.

What's this mean if you're in the market to buy a hybrid? Shop around for your car insurance coverage. Rates are not the same across insurance companies, and if you get a new hybrid your current insurer might not be the most affordable option for coverage. Don't pay more than you have to, compare auto insurance quotes through kanetix.ca.