Is it getting more difficult to insure an electric car?
Sarah works at an insurance broker, and she mentioned more and more insurance companies are not taking on Electric vehicles, but why? are they costly to repair after an accident? If Electric vehicles are the future, then the insurance company's need to be insuring the vehicle. I'm not sure what the issue is, has anyone else heard anything?
A friend of mine used to be a mechanic and he said that he would not work on an electric car due to the high voltages involved. If I recall correctly, he said that what seems routine stuff like brakes can lead to injury if not properly earthed. If that is right, insurance could be a problem. not sure of battery type or corrosive issues involved but could have some impact on inssurance.
If insurance companies refused to insure the all-Electric Mustang SUV that would probably be a great triumph for common sense over ugliness and bad taste....
A friend of mine used to be a mechanic and he said that he would not work on an electric car due to the high voltages involved. If I recall correctly, he said that what seems routine stuff like brakes can lead to injury if not properly earthed. If that is right, insurance could be a problem. not sure of battery type or corrosive issues involved but could have some impact on inssurance.
I'm surprised by that really. I've read a bit about electric vehicles and in theory, you'd think that the only areas where high voltage might be accessible would be around the batteries, controller or motor. I would have thought that for braking and suspension parts to become live, there would surely have to be a fault
Presumably the same applies to hybrid cars?
Correct, they do. For safety, they wouldn't be allowed to rely solely on energy recovery alone to stop. But I'm pretty sure even the energy recovery system doesn't facilitate high voltages to be out near the brakes and suspension. The mechanical torque from deceleration is just fed back up the driveshafts. I've seen inside one of the Honda hybrids and the motor/recovery armature is at the back of the engine by the flywheel (which also forms part of it).
So I am still puzzled why some are difficult to insure.
Maybe. Prius vehicles were the most rear ended vehicles one year. Is it because the drivers are more hesitant or perhaps the clear lens rear lights harder to see, who knows. Would be interesting to know the rear story being it.
Are Prius most driven by elderly? Are they more likely to choose electric vehicles.
Is it because they are the biggest contributors to sitting there with their foot on the brakes in traffic and getting bricks through their rear windows? .
Or is the insurance issue something to do with cost of repair. Who knows. All I know is Sarah works for a vehicle insurance company and a lots of the big insurers they work with are refusing to insure EV.
a bit of thread post but seen a few teslas around oswestry and a few general ev cars around these parts you see a car move ie reverse out of a parking no noise bit off putting, one said about the charge time took er twice as long to get to chichester than it would do for me in a petrol car but only cost her £1.80 if top up charge cant remember what she said for charge time, but i havnt yet seen any charge points around these parts yet, but back on thread the car ie prius is a standard car yes ? just converted to be electric most of the car is same wheels brakes air con electric windows lights secuirty its just the drive train is differant so that should just be the only speacil side for training repair ? all other repairs as normal wonder y as you unless it is down to cost and spares not readly availible????
I've been reading that electric vehicles (EV's) are more difficult and expensive to insure because at the moment, they are generally more expensive to buy and to repair. Also, that because many of them haven't been around for that long, there is limited data on standard repair costs. I guess this is why some insurance underwriters won't touch them. Although, there are many who will, including specialist EV insurers. Apparently as EV's become more common, they should become easier and cheaper to insure.
Whilst you have to think about your journey more with an electric car and obviously depends on where you are going but the journeys we have done doesn't take double the time. If you plan your journey to stop at motorway services - it takes about 45 minutes to charge from empty to full and costs bout £5.00 (unless you get a free vend which we have a few times at South Mimms!).
Tesla are a different animal.
They have a network of chargers that you pay for in the price of the vehicle.
There seems to be a lot of mis-information about chargers and charging time and cost.
After 53000 miles and countless journeys I have to say it can absolutely work. You have to plan your journey if you are beyond the range but that is to be expected with a fuel in its early days. I’m sure petrol filling stations were equally inaccessible in the days when a car had to have a man walking in front and it’s certainly no different to LPG and better than Hydrogen.
I’m no fan, the car doesn’t excite me or interest me and after 2 1/2 years I still haven’t touched it with soap and water just using automated car washes, something my American car never sees. I can’t comment on insurance or spares but my dealership has only once had to keep the car longer then expected due to a recall.
The supporting infrastructure will grow, whether I believe it’s the future or not and the range of these vehicles is growing daily. Once range reaches 300miles most people would be happy to take a break and recharge their caffeine levels anyway so the recharge time becomes insignificant and right now it’s significantly cheaper than petrol/diesel over the same distances. And I’m already seeing motoring reports that say 300 mile range electric cars are here.
Now, whether the infrastructure can keep up with demand is another matter. Fairly sure it won’t.
Electric cars don't excite me either, but I am attracted by the idea of commuting in relative silence and directly emitting zero CO2. I'd keep my Yank for weekends and shows.
That said, even though I can't afford a Tesla, I'd like a go in one. There's no engine growl, but something that produces all of it's torque from zero RPM must be some experience!
A friend at work has just leased a Tesla Type 3, 0-60 in a shade under 3.5 seconds and a top speed of around 150. Not my thang either, but you still have to admire the technology.
Ironically, despite paying a not inconsiderable amount to lease his Tesla Model 3, due to the lack of charging points in Winchester my friend is currently commuting from Bournemouth to Winchester in.....his Porsche 911. ?
Nope, and the real irony is he's actually responsible for the maintenance in the city car parks. Old cars, American and otherwise, are much easier to deal with. You know their quirks and foibles and expect issues.
