Can The Cheapest Car Insurance Also Reduce Motorist’s Carbon Footprint?
July 24th, 2009. Published under Insurance. No Comments.
Owning, maintaining and driving a car has become an expensive commodity, however with modern lifestyles few people are prepared to return to old fashioned methods of transport, despite the fact that they may wish to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
For the vast majority of drivers finding ways to reduce insurance, road tax, maintenance and running costs is the overriding factor, rather than giving consideration to stop driving completely.
There are a number of ways were people can have the best of both worlds in as much as finding low insurance and reducing their carbon footprint.
The introduction by the government scrappage scheme is one way to help reduce the number of older cars on the road which are not very carbon friendly. Whilst this incentive may be ideal for those who were considering buying a new car, the sceptics are saying the whole idea is a hype which few people can realistically afford to benefit from.
The is no doubt that the smaller the engine size of a new car the less carbon emissions will pollute the air. Small engines sizes can also help to lower insurance costs, as well as road fund licenses. Insurers calculate the premiums on a number of given factors which include the age and engine size. Whilst an older car has a lower replacement value those with large engines will automatically put the car onto a different level of insurance. In many ways it is a catch twenty-two situation!
The amount of annual mileage will also be taken into consideration by insurers. The higher the mileage the higher the premiums, reducing the number of miles driven in one year can reduce your insurance and your carbon footprint.
Increasing the voluntary excess will help lower the premiums and if you are serious about using your car less to reduce your carbon footprint, then you are reducing the likelihood of making a claim. However, should you need to make a claim the initial outlay will be more expensive for you.
Not having any modifications made to your car will enable insurers to offer lower premiums and again if you are serious about saving the planet do you really need to modify your car? The only exception to this is adding security devices such as alarms and immobilisers. This is viewed as a proactive way to reduce the risk of your vehicle being stolen by virtually all insurance companies who will give discounts for cars which have security devices fitted.
It is possible to only insure your car for short durations, such as three months. This may seem a drastic approach to take, however only insuring your car for three or six months may be the incentive you need to find another mode of transport which will have a profound impact on lowering your carbon emissions and footprint.
As with any contentious issue those who are looking for the cheapest car insurance may not give two hoots about their carbon footprint! They merely want the lowest insurance deals to enable them to drive legally on the road and have cover should they be involved in an incident or accident and need to make a claim.
For more information regarding the cheapest car insurance go to http://www.swinton.co.uk/car/