Hybrid cars may or may not be cheaper than automobiles with a normal gas or diesel powered engine. It depends on the underwriting rules and guidelines of an individual insurance company to determine rates for vehicles, such as hybrids.

There are some insurers that offer discounts if you have a hybrid vehicle. Once such company is Travelers car insurance, in 2006 they became the first auto insurance company to offer a discount for hybrid drivers through the whole United States. They rolled out a state by state discount and thus far in 2007 have 44 states that they offer this discount in.

Travelers offers the discount to hybrid owners because their research has shown that hybrid drivers typically are lower risk drivers. Their statistics show that many hybrid buyers are married, between the ages of 41 and 60 and safer on the road then many drivers. They are mature, experienced drivers that are trying to save on gas costs and thus are not normally known to be "lead" foots or risky drivers.

There are other insurance providers though that may actually charge more to insure a hybrid. This is due to the cost of repairs being higher than the same model with a gasoline engine. There are also more components to replace if certain areas of a hybrid car are damaged.

As for your second question, no, the color of the car is not generally one of the factors that an auto insurance company will use as a rating factor. The type of car - sports, sedan, minivan, etc - is taken into account though and can influence or affect your rates. It is a common misconception that certain colored vehicles, such as red and silver, costs more to insure but that is not so.

To get auto insurance on a hybrid vehicle in any color under the rainbow, come to us for an instant car insurance quote.