Insuring your EV

When selling a vehicle, I frequently get asked about insurance and who to use. EVs are just the same as all other vehicles, but with a different 'engine'. So there is nothing unusual about insuring them. It is impossible to give an estimate of pricing or recommend who to use, as everyone's own personal circumstances have a huge effect on the insurance. Your location, job, age, driving history etc will have more of an influence on the policy price, than the vehicle you are insuring.

Which insurer to use?

As always, it is best to shop around. The online comparison sites are a good place to start. But be aware that not all insurance companies are represented on these comparison sites. Aviva and Direct Line are never on comparison websites and can often be very competitive. If you're looking for commercial/business insurance, then it can be a good idea to use a broker.

Insuring an EV with a leased battery pack

When insuring your electric vehicle with a hired battery, you need to include the battery in the declared value of the vehicle. The insurance value of the battery is stated in your hire agreement, but it is typically around £6,500. If the car cost you £6,000 and the battery value is £6,500, then you declare the vehicle value at £12,500 and not the £6,000 you paid for it.

You must also make sure you tell the insurance company that it has a hired battery pack. They should make a note of this.

The reason why you must make sure the battery pack is insured is if you had a serious accident and the vehicle was written off, the battery agreement needs settling. The insurance company would pay RCI for the cost of the battery pack and then your agreement would end. If you didn't insure the battery pack, you'd end up continue paying for the battery hire for a vehicle you no longer owned and possibly for a battery that no longer existed!

While the hired battery arrangement did confuse insurance companies initially, most have now caught up and now fully understand the arrangement and it doesn't increase the price of your insurance.