All You Need To Know About Electric Car Insurance (2024)

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) boomed in 2021, despite an overall slump in new vehicle registrations.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, there were nearly 750,000 new EVs registered last year, which is almost as many as the number of new petrol and diesel vehicles. EV leasing firm DriveElectric predicts a further 330,000 (minimum) new electric vehicles will be registered in 2022, continuing the upward trend.

With more people buying or considering EVs for the first time, more questions about EV ownership are bound to arise. One such example is how car insurance works for electric vehicles.

Here’s everything you need to know about EV car insurance.

Cover, cost and claims

These days, the majority of insurers can provide cover for an EV. From big names like LV=, Direct Line and Aviva to smaller firms specifically marketed at EV owners, there are policies for electric vehicle insurance everywhere.

And insuring an EV isn’t all that different from insuring a diesel or petrol vehicle, in the sense that an insurer will take a view on how likely you are to make a claim (as well as what a claim could cost it) before setting your premiums accordingly.

This means it will look at the value of your vehicle and the car insurance group it belongs to, your driving and claims history, along with crime rates in the area where you live.

Is electric car insurance more expensive?

There are a few quirks with EVs that can make them more expensive to insure than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

For example, replacement parts – especially those involved in powering an EV – can be expensive. Insurers pass that on to you in the form of higher premiums.

EVs also typically tend to be put into higher, more expensive car insurance groups than their ICE vehicle equivalents. A car’s insurance group reflects its value, security and safety. Vehicles are allocated to a group between 1 and 50, with 1 being the cheapest and 50 the most expensive.

The Nissan Leaf, an EV, starts from Group 21, while its ICE vehicle equivalents like the Nissan Micra start from Group 1. That disparity can have a big effect on what you’ll pay for cover on each.

Some research has even suggested that because EVs make less noise when running, they’re more likely to hit pedestrians as they’re more difficult to hear coming. In 2015, Guide Dogs claimed pedestrians were 40% more likely to be hit by an EV than an ICE vehicle.

Are my battery and charging equipment covered?

Many EV car insurance policies offer specific cover for your vehicle’s battery, whether you own or lease it, and your charging apparatus.

For example, LV, Admiral and AA will cover your battery, charging cable, charger(s) and adapter(s) against accidental damage, fire and theft.

Some policies, including the AA’s, even provide liability cover in case someone were to trip over your charging cable outside your property, meaning you won’t have to spend your own money defending yourself against any legal claims stemming from a trip.

What if I run out of battery on the road?

So called ‘range anxiety’ – the concern that your EV’s battery will run flat and leave you stranded miles from the nearest charging station, remains a barrier to widespread EV adoption. A survey conducted by car manufacturer Volvo, for example, found 58% of consumers cited range anxiety as a barrier to buying an EV.

However, some EV car insurance policies offer breakdown cover, either as part of the policy or as an optional extra, that will tow you to your nearest charging station should your battery run flat while you’re away from home.

LV=GI goes one further. It maintains a fleet of recharging vans that provide mobile charging facilities on roads in England and Wales, including the hard shoulder and emergency refuge areas of motorways.

This service means any battery electric vehicle can receive a 30 minute charge at the roadside, providing an average 10 miles worth of battery power, giving drivers the chance to get to a petrol/service station or other location to do a full charge.

How to get the best price for EV car insurance

Whatever kind of fuel your vehicle runs on, a price comparison website is still the way to go to make sure you get the best price on the cover you need.

Enter your EV’s registration number, or the number of one you’re thinking about buying, and our car insurance comparison service will immediately pull up information about it – including the fact that it’s an EV or hybrid.

You can then rest assured that every quote you see is from a company that is happy to insure an EV or hybrid, allowing you to compare them in terms of costs and features.

Remember that the cheapest premium may not provide the level of cover you’re looking for, such as inclusive breakdown cover, personal accident cover, legal cover, or a level of voluntary excess that you’d be comfortable paying in order to make a claim.