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Why are electric cars proportionally more likely to be written off? 

 

Electric cars are quickly becoming the new normal. 

 

Climate emergencies and ongoing climate change have finally focused the car industry towards cleaner forms of fuel. In the UK, by the start of 2030, you will no longer be able to buy new fossil-fuel vehicles.

 

While we all hope this electric shift will lead to cleaner air and a reduction in greenhouse gases, you may not be aware that this also has wide-reaching implications for many car and motor industry sectors, which had previously been accused of reacting too slowly.

 

So, how does a shift towards electric vehicles affect the GAP Insurance markets, and why are they more likely to be written off if they are involved in an accident?  are electric cars expensive to repair?

 

When your car is damaged, your motor insurance company will send an accessor to evaluate how much it would cost to repair.

 

They will estimate the actual cost of repairing the car.

 

If the car's repair cost is over a certain percentage (typically 60%. Please see your motor insurance company's terms and conditions for exact figures ), your insurance company will generally write the car off.

 

Electric cars are not inexpensive and can cost substantially more than their petrol or diesel counterparts. A repair cost of over 60% may sound impossible. You may be interested to know.

 

  • The battery alone can cost half the total price of the car.*
  • Repair costs are, on average, 25% more than petrol or diesel variants*
  • Repairing an electric car takes an average of 14% longer to repair.*

 

 

*Statistics are taken from Thatcham Research impact-of-BEV-Adoption-on-the-Repair-and-Insurance-Sectors-report-Innovate-UK-and-Thatcham-Research published July 2023

 

If you factor in the additional cost of providing car hire, which has also increased, then the most logical choice is to declare the car a write-off. 

 

All types of insurance are linked to the amount of risk and the cost in monetary terms of the risk. 

 

The risk you take is if your car is written off and you don't have GAP Insurance, you could be left out of pocket or paying for something you no longer have. 

 

The risk the GAP Insurance provider takes is how much they will have to pay if and when you make a claim. 

 

At GAP Insurance 123, we know that some motor insurance companies and competitor GAP Insurance providers are already charging an additional premium for electric vehicles.

 

Even though, because of the reasons highlighted above, electric vehicles can pose a higher risk in terms of insurance, at GAP Insurance 123, we are in the fortunate position of being able to spread the additional risk.

 

As we can insure electric vehicles as well as higher value and older models, the risk is spread. 

 

Why not click for an instant quote and see just how competitive a GAP Insurance 123 quote for your electric car can be?

 

 

Published 14/9/23, written by Mark Griffiths