Are Green car insurance premiums cheaper?

If you're an environmentally-conscious driver, one way to do your bit for the planet is to get behind the wheel of a 'green' car. This way you can polish your halo and while enjoying the savings to be made from driving an eco car, as these attract reduced road tax and use less fuel.

You'll also benefit from cheaper car insurance, as some providers offer lower premiums to green car owners, as these vehicles tend to be smaller, less powerful and therefore safer.

Discounts of up to 5% off typical car insurance premiums are available to green car owners.

In addition to reduced premiums, some green car insurance companies will offset the pollution caused by your car with schemes such as tree planting or environmental charity contributions.

Here we tell you what your green car options are, and some ways you can make further savings on your car insurance costs.

Green car options

There are various green car options available. These include electric vehicles and less extreme options, such as fuel friendly diesels and hybrids.

There are plenty of economical options to pick from these days that are no longer considered impractical and expensive. Both petrol and diesel green car options are available, with the diesel option being the most common.

Hybrid vehicles have an electric engine running alongside the conventional petrol/diesel motor. This is fuel efficient as the electric motor will run at certain points during a journey, so that the petrol or diesel-guzzling conventional engine is not used all the time.

Meanwhile, 'deep green' cars are wholly powered by electric motors, with more car manufacturers bringing these to the market.

When choosing a vehicle, drivers should pay attention to the car insurance groupsratings of to ensure they are getting the cheapest possible deal.

However, there are a number of other ways to slash the cost of your car insurance:

Reduce your mileage

The more miles you drive, the more likely you are to be involved in an accident - and the more expensive your green car insurance premium will be.
Likewise, the fewer miles you drive, the lower your motor insurance premium is likely to be. So consider limiting your mileage, but make sure the figure you quote to your insurer is accurate to avoid the risk of invalidating your policy.

Increase your excess

Your green car insurance policy will come with a compulsory excess, which is the amount you are liable for in the event of a claim. This is usually set at £100. You can also volunteer to pay an additional excess in return for a lower green car insurance premium. However, make sure you can afford the higher excess in case you have to make a claim.

Drive carefully

If you can avoid making a claim you should be able to build up a healthy no-claims discount. This can dramatically reduce your car insurance premium by as much as 75% after five years.

Boosting the security measures on your car - alarm, immobiliser, steering wheel lock, tracking device - can deter and thwart thieves and save you having to claim for theft.

Consider telematics

Another option which is now available to motorists is telematics car insurance. This is where a black box device is fitted into a car to monitor driving behaviors.

Traditionally car insurance quotes are calculated based on statistics, with those who are considered to be more likely to make a claim being on the receiving end of the most expensive motor insurance premiums. This is not the case with this kind of policy, which will calculated premiums based on driving performance.

If you are a safe driver and feel you could benefit from this kind of policy, read more about it on our pay as you go car insurance page.

Get cheap green car insurance quotes online

You should always shop around for green car insurance quotes and compare deals from a wide range of providers on MoneySupermarket's price comparison website.

However, the cheaper green car insurance quote might not necessarily be the most suitable for you - so check the fine print to make sure your insurance policy fits your needs.