EVs cost more than combustion-engined cars, but the promise of lower running costs has tempted even those who don’t care about climate change or air quality to make the switch. But some drivers are finding those running costs are nowhere near as low as they expected.
And that’s not only down to rising energy costs making EVs more expensive to charge than they were a few years ago. It’s due to shocking rises in insurance costs, at least for drivers of electric cars in the UK. Some drivers have found their premiums have increased more than three times over, and others have been left scrambling to find alternative cover after their existing insurers decided that they would no longer offer cover on EVs.
UK-based forums on websites like Pistonheads and Facebook have plenty of real-life evidence of Tesla drivers struggling to find reasonably-priced cover, but some of the figures quoted in a recent Guardian investigation are genuinely jaw-dropping. The newspaper spoke to one Tesla owner who was paying £1,200 ($1,460) to Aviva to cover his Model Y but received a letter from the insurer as the year’s policy approached its end informing him that it wouldn’t be able to offer any cover for the next year.
The driver started shopping around but at least four big-name insurers or brokers declined to offer him a quote, and he eventually had to accept a policy from Direct Line for £4,500 ($5,500). But because that’s a huge amount of money to shell out in one go, he had to pay monthly and accept the associated interest charges, meaning the overall cost ballooned to £5,000 ($6,100). The Tesla owner considered ending his £600-per-month ($730) Model Y lease, but the £8,000 ($9,760) get-out penalty was even worse than the insurance premium.
Related: Californian Has Home Insurance Policy Cancelled Over 1966 Chevy Corvair Project
And it’s not only Teslas that are affected. The Guardian also spoke to a Smart EQ ForFour owner whose insurer, John Lewis, contacted him to say that it also wouldn’t be able to offer another year of cover. John Lewis, told the newspaper that it had temporarily stopped offering EV cover while it analyzed the risks and costs of insuring electric cars and SUVs. Though EVs have fewer moving parts than combustion cars they can be more expensive to fix.
Rising insurance costs are affecting drivers of combustion cars, too, but it looks like EV owners are being hit particularly hard. Data from Confused.com shows that the average UK insurance premium for a combustion car has risen by 29 percent, but EV cover is up 72 percent. Let’s hope insurers can get started to bring premiums down for electric cars in the coming years otherwise, our roads are going to be packed with drivers who hit the road – and other vehicles – without cover because they simply can’t afford it.
Source: The Guardian