Electric cars are becoming increasingly popular in Britain today, and with good reason: they have low maintenance costs, much lower fuel costs compared to petrol vehicles, and do not contribute to the severe air pollution found in city centres. But while they have a host of advantages, it is not clear if this extends to car insurance.
Electric Vehicle insurance
Purely electric vehicles have the lowest running cost of any category of car, beating diesel, petrol, hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Electric vehicles do have positive features, such as a simpler engine that controls much of the braking and removes the need for brake pads. The graph in this Guardian article shows that while the vehicles may be expensive at both ends of the market, the low cost of electricity compared to petrol keeps the upkeep costs of electric vehicles to around £10,500, while petrol cars cost around £12,000 due to the more expensive fuel requirements.
While that article does not discuss a difference in insurance rates between electric and petrol cars, the Express points out that insurance premiums are consistently higher for electric vehicles, due to their comparative rarity and the lower availability of replacement parts, and not all garages carrying the parts needed to repair them. The most extreme example given was for male drivers under 25, already considered a high-risk group across the board, who might have to pay on average £1854 for an electric car instead of £1484 for a petrol car. Thus, we see that for men under 25 the saving of an electric car might not balance out to be worth the fuel saving, but for many other groups it is less clear. For a female driver aged 30-55 the difference in premiums was £567 for a petrol car and £751 for an electric car.
This means that the difference in insurance prices seems to suggest it is hard to find a good deal on electric vehicle insurance, but a lot easier for drivers over 25. For professionals the insurance gap begins to disappear, suggesting that until the technology becomes cheaper and more widespread, saving money on car insurance while opting for an electric vehicle will be out of many people’s reach. However, it may still be possible to get a good deal using an insurance broker, with the ability to compare and contract insurance providers across the market.
Cutting through the noise
With the many different insurance providers available it can be hard to know whether or not you really will make a saving with an electric car. It can be useful to go to insurance brokers such as Call Wiser to explain your exact needs and specification, which allows them to compare the large number of insurance providers they work with and come back to you with a policy tailored to your needs. The focus on personal fit will work well for trying to find out whether or not you can come out ahead of average in saving money on your car insurance when choosing an electric car.