The battery in an electric car accounts for around a third of the vehicle’s value. Damage to the battery quickly causes costs of 10,000 to 15,000 euros. More and more insurance companies have adjusted their tariffs accordingly and are offering special services for e-cars. But the offers are often not easy to see through. AUTO BILD explains what to look for in car insurance for electric cars and how high the costs are.
Do I need special car insurance for an electric car?
Basically not. In any case, it is irrelevant for liability insurance which drive the car has, since it does not pay for damage to your own vehicle anyway. And the comprehensive insurance applies to an e-car in the same way as to a petrol or diesel engine.
It is still worth taking a closer look when it comes to comprehensive insurance: certain insurance services that are important for an e-car can be included in the normal tariff or offered as an additional service. Individual services are sometimes only offered as part of an additional electronic module. All in all, the offers of the car insurers are knitted very differently, which does not exactly facilitate the comparison.
What benefits should electric car insurance include?
Especially in the case of short-circuit damage and consequential damage from marten bites, many insurance companies have made improvements with regard to higher damage amounts for hybrid and electric cars. The majority of providers now pay a maximum sum of 10,000 euros or more for consequential damage caused by marten bites and short-circuit damage. Just a few years ago, such damage often ended at 5,000 euros. Now some tariffs even offer maximum sums of 20,000 euros.
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Good insurance should also cover overvoltage damage caused by lightning. Charging stations (wall boxes) and charging cables are also insured against theft and damage with many offers. Whether the individual services are included in the normal comprehensive insurance or are offered as an additional module is ultimately irrelevant. The bottom line is that the total costs are decisive.
Is the e-car battery also insured?
Comprehensive insurance should always include the vehicle’s battery. This is the case with almost all providers – there are only a few exceptions. There it may be that the battery is only insured as part of an additional module. Apart from these exceptions, damage caused by fire, theft, short circuits, marten bites, storms and floods are covered under partially comprehensive insurance.
The fully comprehensive insurance also covers damage caused by vandalism and self-inflicted accident damage (to your own car). But be careful: As mentioned above, there can be significant differences in the sums insured for individual comprehensive insurance services (e.g. short-circuit damage, marten bites) depending on the provider.
What does an all-risk cover for the battery bring?
As an additional module, some insurance companies offer so-called all-risk or all-risk coverage for damage to the battery. The batteries are fully comprehensively protected against all dangers, unless they have been excluded in advance. Construction errors, chemical reactions and wear and tear are usually excluded – as is the decreasing performance of the battery over time. In the case of such damage, however, the manufacturer’s guarantee sometimes applies.
Damage caused by incorrect operation, for example, is insured. A possible damage scenario for electric cars could be deep discharge, which permanently damages the battery. But there are also providers who emphasize that thanks to the battery management system, no operating errors are possible.
“All-risk coverages meet customers with an increased need for security,” explains Wolfgang Schütz from the comparison portal Verivox. “But the important risks can also be hedged without this building block.” Even among the cheapest tariffs on the market, many already include all-risk coverage or offer it for a manageable surcharge. You don’t have to pay more than 20 to 40 euros.
Attention, towing costs!
Transporting an electric car is much more difficult with a car with an electric drive than with other cars. The reason: In an e-car, electricity is generated via the drive axle. Improper towing can lead to short circuits.
In the worst case, the battery will be damaged or there will be a fire. If you want to have towing costs covered in the event of a breakdown, you usually have to book an insurance cover.
Is there used car insurance for e-cars?
Used car insurance (also called used car warranties) covers repair costs for vehicles bought used. Which components or assemblies are insured is precisely defined in the contract. Insurance cover can include the engine, transmission and electrics, for example, but recently also included the battery of an electric car.
How is the price of electric car insurance calculated?
In principle, the insurance premium for an e-car does not have to be more expensive than for a combustion engine. In some cases, e-cars are even cheaper to insure – even if the tariff includes additional modules such as all-risk coverage. This is mainly related to the type class classifications: If the drivers of a model cause few damages, the classification is low and the insurance is cheap. In general, electric cars often fare quite well here – compared to similarly powered petrol vehicles.
Are e-cars more expensive to insure than combustion engines?
no Verivox evaluated the insurance costs for five popular electric cars and comparable combustion engines for AUTO BILD (see table below). In four out of five pairings, the Stromer can be insured more cheaply. The biggest difference is in the Mini. Here, the insurance for the e-mobile costs almost a quarter (24%) less than for the combustion engine. Only with the Fiat 500 is the fully comprehensive insurance for the pure Stromer 18 percent more expensive than the contribution for the comparison model with hybrid drive.
“Despite the higher purchase price, electric cars are often significantly cheaper in car insurance than comparable models with combustion engines,” explains insurance expert Schütz. “In order to position themselves in this growing area of business, several insurers are courting the favor of EV owners with attractive discounts. Some providers are also including hybrid vehicles in their discount programs for alternative fuel cars.”
Average contribution for selected electric cars and comparable combustion engines*
Verivox has evaluated the five cheapest fully comprehensive tariffs for all car models and formed the average price from them. All evaluated tariffs included important services such as protection against damage and consequential damage caused by animal bites, extended game damage protection and protection even in the event of gross negligence.
In the case of electric cars, important performance features were also required to protect the expensive battery – for example, coverage for damage caused by short circuits or overvoltage.
The tariff calculation was based on a typical driver profile, which was identical for all model vehicles (44-year-old family man from Münster; 12,000 km mileage; new car; single driver, no-claims class 13, excess €150 partially comprehensive, €300 fully comprehensive).
Save on electric car insurance
Electric car drivers are favored in many places – grants for purchase, tax exemption and free parking. Some insurance companies also promise discounts for e-cars. Wolfgang Schütz advises: “Buyers of electric cars should not rely too much on the discount communication of individual insurers. The cheapest tariffs on the market offer a savings potential of 27 percent compared to average expensive offers and are often not even shown as discounted. Looking for the cheapest offers with top services, the individual comparison of tariffs remains indispensable for drivers.”
