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Advantages & Disadvantages of Hybrid Car Insurance
Do hybrid car insurance plans have different car insurance options? Since there seems to be a lot of talk about them in blogs, forums and shows, one is given the impression that hybrid car insurance is a different sort of plan altogether.
Although hybrid vehicles are different from exclusively gas powered ones because it uses an electric motor together with the gas engine, its car insurance options are still the same. The main difference when it comes to hybrid car insurance is the car insurance discounts that are given to buyers. Since we now know that generally the rules of computing for premiums are the same for pure gas and hybrid vehicles, what are the auto insurance car tips we can give to hybrid car owners in order to save money?
Advantages
How to save money on hybrid car insurance is almost a giveaway. The ratio and proportion when it comes to premiums and insurance follow a fundamental rule and this is the higher the risk the higher your premiums. The ironic thing is that one of the hybrid’s weaknesses which are speed and acceleration is the primary reason its premiums are lower. Since the lack of power which impacts acceleration and speed in essence makes the vehicle safer, this computes to the insurance company as lower risk and so by default the premiums when computed should be lower. Hybrid car insurance is also lower because the demographics also point to safer drivers. The average hybrid car owner is forty to sixty years old which denotes a certain maturity and level headiness usually not present in younger insurance buyers. Yet another lowered risk ratio. The fact that hybrid owners are environmentally conscious means they will try to get the most number of miles to the gallon so speeding or any unnecessary use of fuel is regulated. Score another point for probable car insurance discounts. All these facts combined computes to an average of about 10% car insurance discounts compared to the regular vehicle insurance. These discounts are meant to encourage individuals to buy these hybrids and get more people involved in environmental life style modifications.
Disadvantages
What then are the probable negatives when it comes to hybrid cars? Insurance-wise, since it is still in its infancy stage hybrid insurance looks all good and quite straight forward, however years from now it might not be. Later on down the road when hybrid cars become the norm and not the exception hybrid car insurance rates would in all probability level off and rates would in effect become the same. Also by then the insurance companies would have identified what “high risk” factors are when it comes to hybrid cars. An example would be the danger of high voltage during or directly after collisions. The presence of the battery and probability of electrocution might one day be classified as high risk and would increase premiums. Also the insurance costs after battery warranties have expired could one day result in higher premiums as hybrid batteries are costly. Most components of hybrid cars are technologically advance which computes to more costly parts and in turn higher risk, higher premiums. These though are still to be determined as we continually use hybrid vehicles.
