Hybrid vehicle owners often receive discounts on their premium rates for auto insurance. There are loads of corporate and governmental incentive programs designed to entice consumers to embrace the Green philosophy. In fact, companies like Farmers Insurance Group offer a full 10% discount for hybrid automobile purchasers. Brian Dwyer, Senior Vice President of the automobile insurance unit of Farmers states, "We began offering the 10% hybrid discount in 2005. We thought it was the responsible thing to do. We also had a theory that it might turn out to create a better loss ratio."

The company implemented the plan first in California - the home of roughly 25% of all hybrid vehicles in the US. It only took until 2006 for the company to extend the same discount in all of its operational states. Farmers found that offering the discount brought in a new choice customer segment. In the past three years, Farmers has come to ensure over 90,000 hybrid vehicles. That's roughly 7% of the total number of hybrids sold over the course of the past decade. And those numbers do not include the policies that the company took over as a result of the purchase of AIG (American International Group, Inc) auto-insurance business. Farmers is now one of the top 4 auto insurance providers in the entire United States.

In a recent study by the Quality Planning Corporation, the total costs to insurers for collision repair on hybrid vehicles are roughly 13% higher than similar repair costs four traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. However, because modern hybrid vehicles come equipped from the factory with impressive lists of standard safety features, those increased collision repair costs are offset significantly by lessened bodily-injury and property-damage costs. In addition, the study concluded that owners of hybrid vehicles demonstrate considerably more responsible driving habits than do their traditional vehicle-driving counterparts. This of course means fewer accidents overall - and less insurance company payouts.

Dwyer stated further that it would be advantageous for automobile insurance providers, and the country in general, if more people would begin driving hybrid vehicles. This is a trend that seems to be developing. 0.8% of all automobiles sold in the United States since 1999 have been hybrids. In comparison, just to this point in 2009, roughly 2.6% of all automobiles sold in the United States are now hybrids.

The efforts of environmentalist organizations continue to gain powerful momentum and affect positive changes in both governmental legislation and in generalized civilian behavior patterns. For hundreds of years, corporate manufacturing entities and world governments have consistently demonstrated extremely negligent behavior concerning the planet's natural resources. Fortunately, accountability is being demanded and positive changes are beginning to take place. Every action - from an individual installing a single solar panel in their home - to a major insurance corporation implementing appreciable discounts for Green proactivity - is significant.