Why is electric car insurance so expensive?
Are you wondering why electric car Insurance costs so much more than regular car insurance? It can be a surprise – repairing electric vehicles often comes with high bills, due to their costly parts and technology. In this guide we’ll explain clearly what’s driving up your premiums, and show useful ways to lower them. Read on to find out how!
Key points
- Electric vehicle insurance costs more due to high repair bills, costly parts like batteries (often over £5,000), and limited specialist garages.
- Complex tech systems in EVs need expensive diagnostic gear and skilled mechanics, increasing insurers’ expenses.
- Because electric vehicles are new with fewer historic claims data available, insurers face challenges when judging risk and setting premiums accurately.
- Theft of valuable charging equipment or damage from vandalism can further increase premium prices for electric cars.
- By 2035, petrol car sales will end in the UK; as electric car use rises, affordable insurance options from providers like Admiral Insurance and Aviva UK may become more common.
Higher Repair Costs
Electric cars often need repairs with unique spare parts and pricey materials, pushing up your car insurance premium. There are fewer garages equipped to handle electric vehicle fixes, so repair options get limited and expensive.
Specialised parts and materials
Parts and materials for electric cars are specialised, complex, and costly. Components such as high-voltage cables, charging points, and power control units differ greatly from parts in petrol or diesel engines.
Small accidents can lead to huge repair bills because these items need careful handling by trained experts with the right skills.
A friend of mine recently had a minor accident in his fully electric Nissan Leaf; what seemed like simple damage turned into an expensive motor insurance claim due to costly spare parts unique to battery-powered vehicles.
Comprehensive car insurance providers factor in these steep prices when setting premiums—making EV insurance pricier than coverage for standard petrol or hybrid cars.
Limited repair facilities
Specialised parts may be tricky, but limited repair facilities cause even bigger headaches for electric car insurance. Most garages handle traditional petrol and hybrid vehicles without trouble, yet fewer mechanics have the skills to fix fully electric cars.
Qualified technicians are rare and in high demand, pushing up costs when your EV needs repairs after a road accident or damage from theft and vandalism. Plus, diagnostic tools needed to test complex onboard systems like battery cover or charging points can cost thousands of pounds.
The lack of options leads insurers to charge higher premiums for comprehensive car insurance that covers electric vehicles (EVs).
Battery Replacement Expenses
Replacing electric car batteries can hit your wallet hard—prices often reach thousands of pounds. Damage from a car accident or rapid charging issues can raise these costs even more, making comprehensive car insurance pricier.
High cost of EV batteries
EV batteries are costly to make and replace, which pushes electric car insurance prices up. A new electric car battery pack can set you back thousands of pounds—sometimes £5,000 or even more for premium models like Tesla.
This steep price means repairs after a minor car accident might be far pricier than with normal cars. Some drivers choose EV battery leasing instead; monthly payments typically cost less than filling two full tanks of petrol each month, at around £50 to £100 depending on the plan and model.
Still, insurers factor in these higher costs—including potential damage risks and replacement expenses—to calculate your electric vehicle (EV) insurance premiums.
Risks associated with battery damage
Electric vehicle batteries are costly parts, and repairing damage can get pricey—fast. A minor crash or even a bump on the charging point could lead to hidden battery harm. Damaged rechargeable batteries carry a risk of fire, which poses safety concerns as well as high repair bills for insurers.
Comprehensive car insurance policies typically cover accidental battery damage, theft and fires—but terms vary widely between providers. With leased EV batteries, if the electric car is stolen or written off in an accident, some policies exclude battery value from the payout.
Battery faults often mean expensive replacements rather than simple fixes; this pushes up costs for insurance firms—and impacts premiums.
Complex tech systems add another layer of cost to your EV insurance policy…
Advanced Technology and Features
Electric vehicles often have high-tech systems like advanced driver-assistance and collision alerts, which make repairs pricey. Mechanics also need special diagnostic gear to find faults in these modern features.
Complex onboard systems
Modern electric vehicles (EVs) come packed with advanced technology. Their onboard systems use complicated software and hardware that control vital features—from battery charging to safety sensors.
These complex gadgets require expensive diagnostic tools for checking faults, creating a real challenge if your EV suffers damage after an accident or breakdown.
Repairs involving these high-tech vehicle systems often need skilled mechanics and specific equipment not found in regular garages. Just last year, I had my hybrid car insurance claim delayed because the local facility didn’t have suitable kit to diagnose battery faults, leading to costly delays and higher charges by specialised centres.
The steep expense of repairing or replacing such electronic components pushes comprehensive car insurance prices up—bringing us neatly onto the next point: ‘Expensive diagnostic tools’.
Expensive diagnostic tools
Electric vehicles (EVs) need advanced tools to find faults in their complex onboard systems. These expensive diagnostic tools cost much more than those used for petrol or hybrid cars, adding to higher electric car insurance premiums.
Special computers are needed at repair shops—with software made just for EV battery cover checks and motor inspections—driving up the total price of repairs claimed by the policyholder.
Comprehensive car insurance reflects these increased expenses, as garages pass on costs from pricey instruments needed to keep your greener vehicle safely plugging in and running smoothly.
Limited Insurance Data
Electric vehicles are still new, so insurers lack clear historical claims data to set accurate premiums. Without enough past information, it’s tough for companies to judge risk and decide fair pricing for electric car insurance.
Fewer historical claims data for EVs
Insurance firms rely heavily on past claims data to decide vehicle insurance costs. But electric vehicles (EVs), being quite new, don’t yet have a lot of historical data for insurers to study.
Because there’s limited information on how often EV drivers make personal injury claims or need comprehensive car insurance payouts, providers struggle with accurate risk assessment.
This lack of solid numbers leads insurers to set higher premiums for EV insurance—as they must protect themselves in uncertain situations. For example, my neighbour bought her first electric car last year and was surprised at the steep policy price compared to hybrid car insurance she’d had before—even though she expected lower quotes due to greener vehicles usually offering road tax exemption and fuel efficiency savings.
Challenges in risk assessment
With fewer historical claims data for electric vehicles (EVs), insurers find risk assessment tricky. EV insurance pricing depends heavily on detailed safety records, driver habits, and clear battery replacement costs—but this info is still limited.
Comprehensive car insurance providers must estimate risks without enough past data to guide them.
Assessing risk without solid history is like driving blindfolded—you might reach your goal, but it’s risky.
Limited knowledge of how long an EV battery will last and uncertainty around public charging stations’ safety add to these hurdles. This gap forces insurers to set higher premiums to cover unexpected losses from repairs or breakdown cover claims.
Theft and Vandalism Concerns
Electric cars have costly tech and valuable parts, making them an easy target for thieves—especially at public charging stations. Charging equipment left unattended can attract vandals, raising the risk factor considered by insurers when setting electric car insurance premiums.
High value of charging equipment
Charging equipment costs a lot, and thieves know it. Comprehensive car insurance covers charging points like wallboxes for up to £1,000—because replacing them isn’t cheap. Charging cables are also attractive targets; they’re valuable, easy to carry away and quickly sold on.
This theft risk makes insurers nervous and pushes electric car insurance prices higher. To protect yourself from unexpected charges after theft or vandalism, always check your EV insurance policy carefully; make sure battery cover and charging cable protection come included at fair value.
Vulnerability of charging cables
The high cost of electric car charging equipment makes cables a tempting target for thieves and vandals. These devices, often left outside overnight or at public charging stations, are prone to theft due to their copper wiring and resale value.
Electric vehicle (EV) insurers provide cover under comprehensive car insurance policies for damage or loss of these cables. Insurers also protect you if someone trips over your cable while it’s plugged in—if you’ve taken reasonable care—covering any liability claims from injured pedestrians.
Despite this coverage, damaged or lost charging cables can lead to costly replacements, pushing up overall EV insurance premiums.
In Summary
Electric car insurance costs more for some fair reasons – it covers pricey repairs, advanced technology and high-cost EV batteries. Your policy may also include battery cover, protection for charging points and help if your electric car runs out of charge.
With UK sales of petrol cars set to end by 2035, cheaper electric vehicle coverage could soon become common as more drivers switch to green motoring.
Get an Electric Car Insurance Quotes
Don’t have your registration number? No problem, click here.
Our recommended guides
