"Not all providers specialise in electric car insurance, but you can still get cover for your electric car. Make sure your policy includes cover for charging cables and your battery. Even if you lease your battery from a separate company, it's best to have it covered as part of your policy."
Do all insurers offer electric car insurance?
You should be able to find car insurance for an electric or hybrid car with most of the insurers we work with, but only a few of them offer cover specifically designed for electric cars. These types of policies usually come with extras such as cover for charging cables and batteries.
To check whether a certain provider offers specific cover for your electric or hybrid car, when you get a quote, check our results page for policies that offer specialist electric car insurance. Any providers that do will specify that they are for “electric cars”.
If you choose a policy that doesn’t specialise in electric cars, you may still be able to get cover for everything you need such as charging cables and wall boxes, but you’ll need to check the policy documents or speak to the insurer to check what is and isn’t covered.
What does electric car insurance cover?
Insurance for electric cars typically covers everything standard car insurance does, depending on your policy type. But the cover they can provide for electric cars may differ, like for:
- Battery
- Charging cables
- Adaptors
- Wall boxes
Some policies include extras like accident liability cover, as cables on your drive can be a trip hazard. Alternatively, providers like ByMiles use smart technology in your car to base your policy price on the miles you drive.
As an example of what electric car insurance can cover, here are the benefits of an electric car insurance policy offered by one of the insurance companies we work with:
- Free recovery to the nearest charge point UK-wide if you run out of battery power
- Cover for charging cables, adaptors and wall boxes in case of accidental damage, fire and theft
- Accidental damage, fire and theft cover for your battery
- Lifetime guarantee on repairs (some restrictions apply)
Are electric cars expensive to insure?
When comparing the cost to insure a brand new electric car against the cost of insuring a brand new hybrid or petrol/diesel car, insurance for an EV comes in around 36% more expensive.
Vehicle type | Average cost** |
---|---|
Electric vehicle
|
£783
|
Hybrid
|
£597
|
Petrol/Diesel
|
£557
|
**Based on Confused.com data for new vehicles March 2023 - May 2023.
There are a couple of reasons why insuring EV can make a difference vs insuring a hybrid or petrol/diesel car:
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Even though certain electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf have been available in the UK for over 10 years now, most electric cars have only been available on the market for a few years. This makes them more expensive to buy, and can also make them expensive to insure.
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Electric cars have more specialist parts and also require specialist servicing, this can lead to an increase in the cost of your insurance.
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Although electric car parts are more specialist than petrol and diesel cars, electric cars actually have fewer parts in general, so in some cases, they can be cheaper to insure than petrol or diesel cars of the same value.
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Electric cars often have some of the best safety features available on the market, and this is seen as a good thing when it comes to the cost of your insurance.
Remember, when it comes to insurance, the car is just one of many factors insurers consider when working out prices. You may find your own policy is cheaper with an EV than the equivalent petrol or diesel car.