With petrol and diesel cars being phased out in favour of electric cars, increasing numbers of motorists are facing the prospect of insuring an EV for the first time.
But what will it cost them to do so, and how can they reduce the pain? We have the answers…
Is EV insurance more expensive than for other car types?
According to comparison site Confused.com, the average electric car insurance premium in May 2024 was £910, compared with £790 for a hybrid car and £670 for a petrol or diesel car.
In the same month, rival GoCompare reported average EV insurance premiums to be £641, compared with £467 for all other vehicle types.
Why is it more expensive?
EVs and their technology are relatively new, the cars themselves are expensive to replace when written off and parts can take longer to source and cost more.
There are also fewer technicians and garages qualified to work on EVs, which increases delays and pushes up workshop costs.
According to automotive data company Solera, repair costs for EVs are up to 29% higher than for petrol and diesel cars.
Some specialist policies also include many extra features specific to EVs, which all come at a price.
Many EVs pack a punch, too, with acceleration times that would shame a traditional hot hatch. This has caught out a lot of inexperienced drivers and resulted in greater claims numbers.
For a long time, it was also believed that EVs were more expensive to insure because of the eagerness of insurers to write them off after any accident that threatened the integrity of the battery.
A replacement battery can cost many thousands of pounds – often more than the car itself is worth.
However, as the industry's confidence in and knowledge of EVs develops, new evidence from automotive data firm Cap HPI shows that proportionally fewer EVs are now being written off than petrol and diesel cars.
Is EV insurance different from regular cover?
In essence, no – but for the most comprehensive EV cover, you might want to go with a specialist policy.
Most offer cover for over-the-air software updates and recovery to a charger if the car's battery is empty.
They also offer accidental battery and charging accessories cover, cover against the theft of or damage to home charging equipment and personal injury liability cover in the event that someone trips over a charging cable when it's in use.
Most will provide a like-for-like electric courtesy car.
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These EV insurance scare stories all seem to be part of the bizaar anti EV agenda that some parts of the right wing press seem to have. I'm about to take delivery of a Polestar and opened the comparison sites with some trepidation. The final quote was more or less the same as last year for an Audi Q5. No drama at all.
An MG ZS EV is about £350 ... So where is the problem?
Ok, I'll say it, that's shocking!, by the time it's an EV or no car, I'll be too old to drive.