Did you know that some of the largest insurers are now offering green insurance for
your car and home? It’s a very intriguing proposition, and not as hard to understand as you might think
...
Green Insurance - An Overview Of Green Auto Insurance And Green Home Insurance
Did you know that some of the largest insurers are now offering green
insurance for your car and home? It’s a very intriguing proposition, and not as hard to understand as
you might think.
Actually, green insurance is a concept that is pretty easy to grasp. Let’s start with green
insurance for your home. Green homeowner’s insurance is a policy that will pay homeowner claims for repairs, etc.
using green materials to rebuild or restore your home.
Green auto insurance rewards owners of hybrid automobiles and consumers who limit their overall
driving by offering discounts. It is believed that hybrid owners tend to be more conscientious when it comes to the
maintenance of their automobiles and driving in general. While auto insurance companies have traditionally reduced
rates for customers who drive less, the green insurance rates are a steeper reduction than in the past.
You might think that it is really great of these companies to offer discounts and special
policies to customers with a green conscious. While it can be very worthwhile for the green-conscious consumer, it
is also worthwhile for the insurance company. Consumers who will purchase green insurance have a tendency to be
“deeper pocket” consumers who are often willing to purchase other types of green insurance in addition to auto and
homeowners. For instance, there are insurers who now offer energy policies to those consumers who produce their own
power off grid through solar, wind, or geothermal process. These policies insure the consumer against failure of
their energy generation systems. In the event of such failure, the insurance company will pay the cost to purchase
power elsewhere, fix the equipment and bring it back online.
Homeowner’s green insurance policies almost all add extra cost to premiums to guarantee repair
or rebuilding with green materials. This makes the product more profitable to the insurance company. As previously
mentioned, most insurers have been offering discounts to customers who drive fewer miles. However, the green
policies add a stringent regulation and monitoring practice to receive the larger reductions. Many insurers require
monitoring of actual miles. This can be accomplished through the use of GPS technology. Some manufacturers are
including easy methods for mileage monitoring in their vehicle design. Some insurers have special devices that can
plug into a port and transmit mileage data to the insurance company directly.
If you are a particularly green-conscious consumer, it is certainly advisable that you speak to
your insurer about the many green insurance policies that are out there. In the event of any damage to your home,
you are likely to seek out green solutions for repair and restoration in any event. It would only make sense to
have this option included as part of your homeowner’s policy. The same common sense is applicable to your auto
insurance, as well. If you own a hybrid or are thinking of buying one, why not take advantage of the discounts an
insurer will offer you for making such a choice? As well, if you are dramatically reducing your auto mileage and
biking, walking, or car-pooling instead of driving, it makes good sense to have your mileage monitored for steep
green insurance reductions.
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Some groups of people are saying that we are killing our planet by not protecting the
environment and by using up all of its resources faster than they can replenish themselves. The situation with our
environment has many people talking about what should be done about the situation. It affects us all in the air we
breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. There are many people who do not want to give up their cushy
lifestyles and are too lazy to actually be a part of the growing population that does care and wants to do
something to try to help by protecting the environment any way they can and help make our planet a better and
healthier place to live. These people are thinking ahead about the future of our children and how this problem will
affect them. No parent wants their child to grow up and be faced with conditions worse than they are today.
Consumer demands are growing very fast in this area so business and industry are trying to find ways to help people
benefit from living an environment free from toxins. Auto insurance companies are encouraging people to change
their lifestyle to become more eco-friendly. Many insurance companies are providing cheaper auto insurance for
insured drivers who purchase green cars. Current research indicates that auto owners are becoming more and more
likely to purchase a green car than they were in the past because of the high cost.
With the continuing rising cost of gasoline people are now choosing green cars because of their
lower emission because it will save them money on gasoline. Lower emissions will also result in less carbon dioxide
and carbon monoxide being released into the atmosphere. This means we could be breathing cleaner air which is good
for us and it also slows down global warning which is good the atmosphere.
By auto insurance companies lowering insurance rates and providing more discounts for drivers
who purchase these energy efficient autos, the auto insurance companies are making it easier for these people to
purchase a hybrid as they are still very expensive because they are still new to the market.
Research has shown that people who drive hybrids are a lower risk of getting involved in an auto
accident. Because they care about things such as the health of the earth they are also more likely to be a more
responsible and less reckless driver. Insurance companies see these people as being more sensible in other areas of
their lives since they care so much about the environment.
Basically, auto insurance companies are rewarding people who drive low emission autos by
offering them discounts on their auto insurance premium. Also, most auto insurance companies have set up some sort
of carbon off-setting program. This means that they take a percentage of the price of the auto insurance policy and
give the money to carbon-offsetting projects such as projects involved in the planting of trees, supporting
recycling projects, educating people on the subject, and many other eco-projects.
The auto insurance company may even offer extra incentives to drivers if they utilize recycled
car parts for repairs or recycling their auto if it is totaled due to an auto accident. As you can see by the
information above, there are many ways of helping the environment while helping yourself as well.
In this article, we will discuss the reasons why you should
cultivate the habit of watching your gas mileage all the time.
Among the reasons to watch your gas mileage are:
Create a true baseline of your car's fuel efficiency.
Recognize immediately when something goes wrong.
Get a true test of the effectiveness of gas-saving gadgets and
techniques.
Improve your driving skills.
Create a Baseline
You know your car was rated at so many miles per gallon when you
bought it, but is it really getting that mileage? Remember that thing about "your
actual mileage may vary"?
In order to know what kind of fuel efficiency you're actually
getting, you're going to have to measure it yourself.
Unfortunately, the very act of measuring your fuel economy might
"change" it. Its kind of like a classroom full of children: When they know the
teacher's watching, they behave better. Similarly, when you know your gas mileage
is being measured, you might step a little lighter on the accelerator.
The only way to get a true measurement of your gas
mileage is to measure it all the time. If you make a habit of writing down every
gallon of gas you buy, sooner or later, you will revert to your real driving habits
- the way you drive when the teacher isn't looking - and you will find out what's
really going on.
Recognize a Problem
Your car's gas mileage is a good indicator of its overall
performance. When something is beginning to go wrong, it will start robbing you of
power - and gas - before you really notice serious performance problems.
If you're in the habit of tracking your gas mileage all the
time, you will see immediately when your car needs attention. Is it time for a
tune-up? How's the tire pressure? Does your transmission need some adjustment?
These and many other things can make your car start burning more gas than it
should.
If your gas mileage suddenly drops from 33 mpg to 30 mpg and
stays there, you might not notice it for weeks or months. How much does that extra
3 mpg cost you over half a year? It adds up, and if you're not watching, it adds up
stealthily and robs you blind.
But if you're keeping track of your gas mileage all the time,
you will know about subtle problems like this right away. Then you can take
corrective action before the money starts leaking out of your budget.
True Test of Improvements
If you're planning to install some new gadget or use some new
fuel additive to get better gas mileage, how will you know it really works? The
same question applies if you've heard about some new trick or technique to get
better fuel economy.
The only way to know is to have a good baseline to start with,
and to get a good, accurate measurement of your fuel economy after you make the
change.
There is something that might be called a "placebo effect" in
gas mileage improvements. You get better gas mileage after you install the new
widget because you want to get better gas mileage. You start using some
snake-oil fuel additive, and you drive a little slower, even without realizing it,
and so you get better gas mileage with snake oil.
The only way to know whether that new widget really works is to
get a true, long-term measure of your gas mileage. And, as described earlier, the
only way to do that is to keep up the habit of measuring your gas mileage all the
time, even when "the teacher isn't looking."
Improve Your Skills
Once you're in the habit of measuring your gas mileage
constantly, you can use that information to keep tabs on your driving habits. Yes,
"the teacher is watching." You know how to drive for maximum fuel efficiency, but
are you really doing it?
Monitoring your car's gas mileage all the time will let you
know, not only how your car is performing, but how you are performing as a
driver.
Don't just think you're driving for maximum
efficiency - know it!
And don't try to fool yourself into believing that you're an
efficient driver. Your ongoing fuel economy records will show the cold, hard truth.
"The teacher is always watching."
Conclusion
This article told you four good reasons why you should measure
your car's gas mileage all the time. It assumes that you already know how to get a
good ongoing MPG measurement, but that is the subject of other articles.
Measure your gas mileage all the time. This will let you know
what your real MPG is, whether your car is performing at its maximum efficiency or
if something needs fixing, what effect that latest gizmo or additive is really
having on your gas mileage, and whether you really are as fuel-conscious a driver
as you think you are.
About the author:Chuck_Bonner. You
can download a handy gas mileage spreadsheet at GasPredictor.com. It keeps
track of your car's gas mileage, from one fill-up to the next, as well as
over the long term. Visithttp://www.gaspredictor.com for this and other information about getting the most
from your driving budget, as well as forecasts of tomorrow's gas prices for the
U.S.Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chuck_Bonner
Prius owners pride themselves on how good their gas mileage is. At the Huntsman World Senior
Olympics in St. George, Utah, another Prius owner parked next to mine. "So how's your gas mileage?" I asked,
wondering if mine was better. "We got about 43 mpg coming here, but we drove from Denver and there were lots of
hills. "I got 44," I said secretly pleased with myself, "coming down from Lindon, Utah.
After owning a Prius for a year these are the things I have learned about getting better gas
mileage:
1. If the car has an obvious constant visible monitoring of gas mileage, the driver will get
better mileage. Its human nature to accept a challenge. When one observes what makes gas mileage go up and down,
the challenge is on to get the highest possible mileage. A mini-van gets as little as three mpg going up a
moderately steep hill. If a driver accelerates rapidly, the same is true at a stop light. However, going down a
moderately steep hill at 25-30 mph a mini-van can get 99 mpg. The overall gas mileage of a vehicle is an average of
ups and downs and depends on how hard the gas pedal is depressed. The Prius has an "in your face" tracking system
that lets you know the score continually and breaks gas mileage up into five minute increments. The Prius also
shows the driver when the electric motor is charging and discharging. When it's discharging, the mileage is
better.
2. If the gas pedal is stepped on gently to accelerate rather than slammed to the floor to beat
out the car in the next lane at a red light, better gas mileage is achieved. In a Pruis, the electric motor kicks
in when the gas pedal is depressed slightly. With total electric motor, there is no gas usage. When the gas pedal
is depressed hard, the gas engine burns fuel like a normal car. In the Prius, the driver has a choice.
3. The Prius has an electric motor that works as the car first starts to move. A Prius can get
13-15 miles per gallon going up the same hill a mini-van is climbing at 3 mpg.
4. The Prius gets better gas mileage after it has been driving for a while. Driven
intermittently throughout the day, the Prius gets better gas mileage than only being driven once a day for short
distances. When the electric motor charges frequently, it runs more efficient.
5. When "B" is used instead of drive, the electric motor is charged faster and it is able to put
more energy into propelling the car forward. I use "B" to slow the car going down a hill and driving up to a red
light. When I started using it while driving on the freeway, I found that it charged the electric motor and I got
overall better gas mileage then driving only in drive on the freeway.
6. In cold weather, the Prius takes longer to warm up and doesn't get as good gas mileage. Using
the heater affects the mileage as well. When the car is warmed up it performs better.
7. When my Prius odometer reached 15,000 miles my car started getting even better mpg. Of course
I did all the required maintenance from Toyota. My last around town with some freeway driving was 57 mpg.
8. Short up and down hills affect the mileage. I drove to Portland, Oregon, from Utah last week.
I got 48 mpg going there and 43 mpg coming back. But going up and down the short steep hills around my son's house
I only got 35 mpg. It was a disappointment because the week before back in Utah I had gotten 57 mpg driving up and
down the longer hill by my house and then driving flat in the valley.
9. The Prius gets the best mileage overall on flat ground or roads with a slight grade.
Continual mountain climbing takes its toll on mpg.
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