MANCHESTER, England, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The launch of The Co-operative Insurance Sexy Green Car Show at the Eden Project in Cornwall today, (22 May) will see leading eco-insurer urge the rest of the motor insurance industry to take action and give more consideration in the claims process to repairing rather than replacing plastic components such as bumpers and bonnets following an accident.

By focussing more on the repair of parts, carbon emissions are reduced as less demand means a reduction in the amount of parts produced in factories, fewer parts are transported across the world and a smaller amount of damaged parts are transported to waste sites.

The Co-operative Insurance is offering repairers within its affiliated repair network, a major incentive to repair plastic parts rather than discard them and replace with new. It will give repairers who choose to repair a plastic part, an incentive in the form of a cash incentive equating to 50 per cent of the cost of the new part.

David Neave, Director of General Insurance at The Co-operative Insurance said: "We have a robust environmental policy at The Co-operative Insurance and we are constantly seeking ways to reduce the environmental impact of the industry we serve. We recognise that it's easier to fit a new part and throw away the old one, rather than considering whether it could be repaired. So in order to encourage repairers to think again, we've decided to offer them a major incentive.

"We have shown that our commitment to combating climate change through all areas of our business and this initiative is another demonstration to that commitment. We think that it is high time that other insurers follow our lead and encourage their network of repairers to repair damaged parts instead of stripping them down and sending them to landfill."

The Co-operative Insurance Sexy Green Car Show is now in its second year and 2008 will see more vehicles on display, testing their green credentials at what is normally a car-free zone. Among other major manufacturers showing off their latest low-emission cars will be Citroen, Honda, Peugeot, Saab, Fiat and Volkswagen.

Notes to Editors:

- ISDN facilities are available for broadcast media interviews.

- Eden Project Limited is owned by the Eden Trust, which is a fully registered UK Charity (No. 1093070).

- Eden is home to the two biggest greenhouses in the world - the Rainforest Biome and Mediterranean Biome.

- Around 1.2 million visitors come to Eden per year and it has generated GBP800 million for the local economy.

- So far capital funding of GBP 135 million to develop Eden has been raised from a combination of GBP 58 million from the Millennium Commission Lottery Fund, GBP 50 million in regional grants from the South West Regional Development Agency and Objective One European Regional Development Fund, and GBP27 million in the form of loans, lease finance and Eden's own revenue generation.

- Immediate information may be obtained from our website: http://www.edenproject.com.

- The Co-operative Insurance Eco motor insurance helps to offset carbon emissions at the outset and continues to contribute towards managing the environmental impact throughout the entire journey.

- The Co-operative Insurance Eco motor insurance product includes 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.

For further information contact: Natalie Housby/Duncan Bowker, The Co-operative Financial Services Press Office, Tel: +44(0)161-827-5619, Fax: +44(0)161-832-2751, e-mail : natalie.housby@co-operative.coop .

For further information contact: Natalie Housby/Duncan Bowker, The Co-operative Financial Services Press Office, Tel: +44(0)161-827-5619, Fax: +44(0)161-832-2751, e-mail : natalie.housby@co-operative.coop .