How insurance companies price electric car insurance

Last update: Tue Jun 04 2019

Just bought a new electric car and need to get car insurance? Take a look at our top tips to help you find the best deal.

We often get asked how insurance companies price electric car (or any automobile) insurance policies. They don't invent the numbers, but go down a predefined checklist. Don't forget the following items when you're looking for a good quote on your electric car insurance, and bring these points along to any negotiation with an agent.

Here's the electrade checklist straight from our expert, for when you're negotiating.

The main things your insurance premium for an electric car will depend on is:

Which ZIP you're in

If you're in a region with more break-ins, or an area where drivers are in more accidents (the state of Delaware for some reason – no joke, look it up), you will get quoted a higher premium for auto insurance.

If you're in a city, electric car insurance is going to cost more

Mostly again due to statistically higher break-in rates and accident rates. The likelihood of your car being damaged when parked on a street also has an effect.

Whether it's a used or new electric vehicle

The price of a new car is the value at which it is insured. The higher the price of the car, the more valuable the car, and higher the premium. A used car on the other hand will be bought part-way through it's value-decreasing lifespan (aka depreciation) – so not only is the "insurable" value less which leads to lower premiums, but it can be declared as "totalled" more easily than a new car.

If you bought used, the original purchase price of your car

The original car price is mostly a sign of how much the car replacement parts will run, though there are of course exceptions to this (here's looking at you, VW).

Other things like whether you're married, have a degree, and how your car is financed

These count as more circumstantial evidence for insurance companies on how reliable a person you statistically will be (don't bother marrying someone to get a few dollars off – it's not worth it), but can affect your premium by a few dollars per month.

Your EV model

Certain brands, and models (SUV, Sedan, Crossover) are more expensive to insure. Others are way more affordable.

So action items for you are:

• Shop around – the more offers the better.
• Skew towards newer insurance companies like Metromile, Electrade, and other apps that take driving style into account. They are more likely to understand and have thought about how EVs will be priced differently from traditional cars.
• Mention the safety features of your new EV to the insurers when getting a quote.
• Find a full list of auto insurance companies to call here

Thank you for reading, and thank you for being part of the electification of transport. ⚡️