Electric Car Insurance

Get a great deal on your electric car insurance

The government has announced all new cars sold after 2040 will need to be electrified in some way – either as hybrids or pure electric vehicles. A motoring revolution like this can't happen overnight, and that means more and more of us are going to be buying and driving electric cars in the near future.

Car manufacturers are already working hard on developing this entirely new generation of cars, with some new brands like Tesla becoming familiar sights on our roads.

If you're one of these early adopters – or are considering joining their growing ranks – you might have some questions about the consequences for your electric car insurance.

Do I need specialist insurance for an electric car?

No. While you can choose to take out a dedicated electric vehicle insurance policy if you wish, insurance providers like Admiral are working to normalise electric car ownership as much as possible. And this means you needn't take out any kind of specialist car insurance.

Is electric car insurance cheaper?

All sorts of things can affect your electric car insurance cost and some electric car buyers may wonder whether insurance is cheaper on electric cars, but there are multiple things to consider when calculating the cost of insurance.

Your choice of car is one of them. When working out the insurance group of your vehicle, all sorts of things are taken into account, including:

• Cost and availability of spare parts
• Ease of finding a qualified or specialist repairer

We also consider if an accident is more likely because electric cars offer a different driving experience. Peak pulling power is available from a standstill, meaning they often offer surprising acceleration, all in relative silence.

What happens if I'm leasing the battery?

To reduce the cost of buying an electric car, some manufacturers (such as Renault and Nissan) offer the chance to buy the car and lease its battery separately.

The monthly lease amount is typically less than two full tanks of fuel – saving you no money on running costs but doing a fair bit for the environment.

You should notify us when taking out your policy if you're leasing the battery. If the car is written off, we need to make sure the payouts for the car and its battery go to their respective owners. If you own the battery, its value is combined with that of your car – this then makes up your car's market value.

What if someone trips over my charging cable?

If you're charging your car while it's parked in the street, there's the possibility that a member of the public might trip over your car's charging cable.

This opens you up to allegations of negligence and a personal injury claim.

Under Section 4 of your Admiral motor insurance policy ('Liability to other people'), so long as you've taken reasonable steps to prevent such an accident or injury from occurring, you're insured against this.

The cables would be covered if they were bought as part of the car. Aftermarket cables aren't covered unless they were a direct replacement from the manufacturer.