Travelers now offers hybrid drivers a 10% discount on auto insurance in 44 states (Georgia's the new one)

Forty-four out of fifty. 88 percent. Almost nine out of ten. However you name it, it's getting easier to asks Travelers Insurance for a ten percent discount on your auto insurance if you drive a hybrid. Company officials have just announced that Georgia is the latest state where residents can qualify for the discount. That list is now 44 states long. The missing states? Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North and South Dakota, West Virginia.

The reason for the ten percent discount is that Travelers figures that hybrid owners are lower risk drivers, and so can be rewarded with lower rates, said Greg Toczydlowski, senior vice president of product management for Travelers Personal Insurance. Travelers officials say that the company's hybrid new car business has grown 200 percent compared to the previous 12 month average.

Is it reasonable to think that hybrid drivers are better drivers? I used to believe the companies penalized people for driving red cars, but that's not true, so it's clear I don't know much about how insurance companies operate? Do you think it's fair to favor hybrid drivers over, say EV or biodiesel fans? Could I go make a claim to my insurer that I recycle a lot, and so they should give me a discount? Where's the line here?

Related:

• Ohio hybrid drivers get a discount from Farmers Insurance
• Travelers insurance discount for hybrid drivers extends to Texas
• Insurance companies steadily rolling out green machine discounts

[Source: Travelers via EDTA]