Why Are Electric Cars Expensive To Insure

If you have collision coverageand your electric car is totaled a claim to replace the more expensive car will be higher.

Why are electric cars expensive to insure.

The finishes in these vehicles is often much more expensive than the materials used in a more moderately priced vehicle says carole walker executive director with the rocky mountain insurance information association. Electric cars are fairly new to the market and they use technology that isn t as wide spread as standard petrol cars as such they can be more expensive to repair and therefore also insure. Summary at the moment electric cars almost always cost more to insure. The other assumption behind the higher numbers is that an electric vehicle will cost more to repair.

As is the case with other auto segments some vehicles are inherently more expensive to cover than others. Electric cars are mainly so expensive because of the development costs associated with bringing new technology to the market. As more electric cars are manufactured and get out onto the road in the coming years the availability of parts will become more widespread and competition between manufacturers keener. Sports cars and high end luxury vehicles are usually much more expensive to insure because of repair costs.

Those development costs will end up being passed down to the consumer in the way of a higher overall vehicle price. Why do electric cars cost more. The most expensive ev to insure is perhaps unsurprisingly the most expensive electric car on sale. As an example the cheapest electric car to insure between march 2019 and march 2020 the nissan leaf costs an average of 623 a year.

Insurance experts say electric cars can attract higher premiums but they are coming down. A car that costs 10 000 more to buy will potentially cost more to insure as well. Providers take this into account when calculating premiums. The more a car is worth the more an insurance company has to pay if it s totaled or stolen.

One of the reasons is the cost of repairs. While electric cars have fewer moving parts than petrols and diesels some components like the lithium ion batteries are very expensive to repair if damaged. However this extra outlay may be negated by the reduced costs in running them. And although electric cars require less service than their gas counterparts it can cost more to repair.

The tesla model s pictured above during crash testing.