Travelers to Offer 10% Insurance Discount for Hybrid Owners Nationwide

5 January 2006

Travelers personal lines, a member of St. Paul Travelers, will implement a 10% discount on auto insurance to hybrid vehicle owners in the United States beginning in February 2006.

In October 2005, the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced a 5% discount to customers in California who own a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle. (Earlier post.) Travelers is the first to offer such a discount nationwide.

Our preliminary research indicates that hybrid owners tend to fall into the preferred insured category, and at Travelers, lower risk drivers are rewarded with lower premiums. Additionally, hybrid vehicle sales have at least doubled every year since the first car was offered in the U.S. in 1999. This trend shows no signs of slowing, and Travelers intends to serve this growing market with innovative products to meet the changing needs of our customers.

—Greg Toczydlowski, Travelers senior vice president of product management

As of August 2005, there were 328,157 registered hybrid vehicles in the US. Most were in California, followed by Virginia, Washington and Florida. Los Angeles tops the list for most hybrids by city, followed by San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York. According to company data, hybrid owners insured with Travelers are typically married, age 41-60 with both genders represented equally.

Travelers has set up a special website for information \\on its hybrid car insurance discount: www.hybridtravelers.com.