Driver warning as EV insurance costs could be set to rise – can you afford it?

INSURANCE premiums for electric cars are set to rise due to the cost of repairs and damage to their batteries.

Electric vehicles (EVs) were 25.5 per cent more expensive than petrol and diesel models, a comparison has revealed.

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The damage to them took 14 per cent longer to repair than to traditional motors.

The excessive cost of repairing batteries results in many EVs being written off.

EVs , despite having their latest safety technologies, were still involved in accidents that result in insurance claims.

Automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research has now published a report warning that premiums were set to rise for EV owners.

The report also found that road collisions involving an electric car are often ‘catastrophic for the vehicle’.

The report found that it was often too expensive to repair EVs after a serious accident, forcing the owner to write them off.

Damage to the high-value voltage pack inside the car was often the main cause of an EV being written off, the report found.

The battery pack inside EVs represent a substantial percentage of the original vehicle value.

A battery in a premium electric vehicle was worth around £29,500. In budget EVs the battery was worth around £14, 500.

Jonathan Fong, senior policy adviser at the Association of British Insurers said to Mail Online : “As with any new technology, there will be factors that need to be worked through, including a host of considerations in the insurance and vehicle repair supply chains.

“We’ve been calling for more investment in training and reskilling automotive technicians to help develop a robust and independent repair network that can cope with an increasingly electrified fleet.”

Also responding to Thatcham Research’s report, Chris Payne, head of networks and engineering at insurer LV=, said: “As one of the major insurers in the UK we’re working hard to find solutions to some of the current challenges around EVs.

“This includes upskilling the next generation of technicians and redesigning and developing our new and existing repair sites.

“As an industry we also need to ensure there is collaboration between insurers, car manufactures, salvage agents, repairers and the entire supply chain.

“This will ultimately help us work towards a combined goal that enables the latest vehicle technology to be repaired safely, and efficiently with the right skills, tooling and equipment to ensure we meet the needs of the future.”