California Leads Nation in Hybrid Ownership; Travelers to Offer 10 Percent Discount on Hybrid Car Insurance

  
    
  
  
    
      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
    
  
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