Co-operative Insurance expects growth in eco insurance market

The growing demand for green financial services products will lead to more and more motorists opting for eco insurance products, a leading insurer said today (25th January).

David Neave CIS Director of General Insurance said “All the evidence points to consumers taking on board the issues surrounding climate change”.

The annual Ethical Consumerism Report, produced by CIS’s sister company The Co-operative Bank, shows that more and more consumers are buying green products and services. In the six years since the report was first issued the amount spent on ethical goods in the UK has increased from £8 billion to £29.3 billion per annum with the green financial services sector increasing from £5.1 billion to £11.5billion over the same period.

Therefore, when CIS launched its Eco motor insurance product in July 2006 it was confident that there was a market for such a policy.

In addition a report commissioned from The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester by The Co-operative Bank and Friends of the Earth last September said, the UK could achieve the necessary carbon reductions if the Government implements a major programme of action within the next 4 years. Delaying action will require much more drastic and less manageable cuts.

Even so the UK needed to achieve significant emission cuts – of around 70 per cent - within the next 30 years and that Government targets of a 60 per cent cut in emissions by 2050 are insufficient as they do not provide for enough reductions within the necessary timescale.

Therefore individuals will undoubtedly now have to take more responsibility for their actions in the future and will actively be looking for ready-made solutions to help them achieve this. CIS’s Eco Insurance product provides consumers with a cost effective way to make a real positive impact on the environment backed by our competitive pricing policy.

Included within the product are the following distinctive features:

Offsetting 20% of CO2 emissions for every vehicle insured under the Eco Insurance product through direct funding by CIS.

Premium discounts for ‘greener’ cars.

Environmental backed claims service.

Owners of those vehicles that do not qualify for the premium discount will still do their bit for climate change as CIS will agree to offset a percentage of the vehicles CO2 emissions at no extra cost to the customer.

David Neave continued, “From our annual Ethical Consumerism Report, it is apparent that more and more consumers are becoming environmentally aware and that influences what they buy, including the purchase of car insurance. From the findings of the Tyndell research it is clear that more needs to be done to redress the impact of climate change. CIS now have in place a high quality eco-friendly car insurance product, delivered by a trusted and ethically guided insurer, that will allow customers to make a difference and to take action to reduce their own carbon footprint at no extra cost to themselves”.