Los Angeles Freeways See More Hybrids than Any U.S. City;
San Francisco a Close Second
HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2006--On the heels of
the recently signed legislation by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that
promises to reduce California's greenhouse emissions by 25 percent by
the year 2020, Travelers announced today a solution to help support
that goal. California hybrid owners can now take advantage of a 10
percent discount(a) on auto insurance offered by Travelers.
"The new legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions shows
California is taking noticeable measures to improve the environment,"
said Peter Betts, Travelers regional vice president for California.
"We hope our discount offer for hybrid owners will help support an
eco-friendly action plan for California and its residents."
Commonly known as an eco-conscious state, Californians registered
52,619 new hybrid vehicles in 2005. At a distant second, Florida
registered 10,470 hybrids, followed by Texas, New York and Virginia.
Los Angeles tops the list of hybrid-driving cities with 22,922 new
hybrid cars registered, followed by San Francisco with 15,828. New
York, Washington D.C. and Boston complete the top five.(1)
"California has long been a trendsetting state whose example the
rest of the nation often follows, and Californians have embraced the
hybrid car in a big way," said Greg Toczydlowski, senior vice
president of product management for Travelers. "We salute this spirit
of forward-looking innovation and will continue to develop products
and services that evolve to fit the changing needs of our California
customers."
At www.hybridtravelers.com visitors can review up-to-date
information on federal and state tax benefits for hybrid drivers and
enjoy other community incentives, such as discounted or free parking,
and can share their stories as "hybrid travelers." For fun, the site
features the Early Adopt-o-meter, which ranks visitors' penchants for
embracing new technologies. Visitors can also access an agent locator
and obtain policy information.
Earlier this year, Travelers became the first auto insurance
company to offer a discount to hybrid drivers on a national level and
has been steadily rolling out the discount state by state. The company
has recently made the discount available in New York, Maryland,
Florida, Washington and Texas, bringing the total number of states in
which the discount is offered to 42 plus the District of Columbia.
The discount for hybrid drivers is the latest in a long series of
firsts for the company that wrote the first automobile insurance
policy in 1897. Other firsts include the first policy covering
electronic data processing liability in 1961, the first policy to
protect individuals using personal computers for online banking in
1997, and the first insurance company to offer consumers protection
against identity fraud in 1999.
About Travelers
Travelers understands that life and business are inherently
dynamic and that the best way to serve agents and policyholders is to
deliver insurance that evolves to stay in-synch with life and business
as they change. For more information on being in-synch, visit
www.travelers.com.
Travelers is a business of The St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc.
(NYSE:STA), a leading property casualty insurer selling primarily
through independent agents and brokers. The company's diverse business
lines offer its global customers a wide range of coverage in both the
personal and commercial settings, including automobile, homeowners,
construction, small business, oil and gas, ocean marine, financial and
professional services, global technology and public sector services.
St. Paul Travelers is ranked 85 in the Fortune 500, with 2005 revenues
of $24.4 billion and total assets of $113.2 billion. The company has
approximately 32,000 employees.
(a)A discount of up to 10% applies only to certain coverages. The
discount may not be available in all states and is subject to
individual eligibility.
(1) R. L. Polk & Co., 2006
CONTACT: Travelers
Media contact:
Jennifer Wislocki, 860-277-7458
SOURCE: Travelers