EV DRIVERS PAY UP TO 60% MORE FOR INSURANCE

Owners of electric cars are paying far more for insurance than petrol and diesel drivers, new research has revealed.

The Government is now being urged to cut insurance premium tax (IPT)IN the wake of the revelation that EV owners are paying up to 60 per cent more for their premiums.

Motoring consumer website Honest John argues that high premiums are helping put people off EVS and cutting IPT would encourage their uptake in the face of declining registrations.

“If the Government is serious about getting more people into genuine zero-emission electric vehicles, rather than plugin hybrids, then there needs to be decisive action,” said Honestjohn.co.uk managing editor, Dan Powell.

“And the Government itself holds the key. At present, it takes 12 per cent off every insurance premium in IPT. If it removed IPT from pure electric vehicles, then premiums would instantly drop and this would improve the incentive for buyers to swap their diesel or petrol for pure electric.”

After receiving complaints from Honestjohn.co.uk readers about the unaffordable cost of insurance for electric cars, the website analysed the market to see what a typical driver can expect to pay for a comprehensive 12-month policy.

It ran test quotes on similar models and car manufacturers from Confused.com for a female driver aged between 30 and 55 with no motoring convictions. They showed that a petrol car with a comprehensive insurance policy was £567. Meanwhileitwas£607foradiesel car and £751 for an EV.

Running the same quote for a male aged under 25 revealed that the average annual insurance policy would cost £1,484 for a petrol car, £1,592 for a diesel and a whopping £1,854 for an electric vehicle.

Delving into the numbers at Gocompare for a professional in their 30s the costs for insurance dropped, but the price disparity grew. For example, a 35-year-old accountant living in a city with five years’ no claims could expect to pay £247 when it came to insuring a 2015 Renault Clio petrol. A similar fully comprehensive quote for the same firm’s electric Zoe was £395 – 60 per cent higher than the Clio, despite the fact that both are similar priced and equipped.

Insurance industry body, the Association of British Insurers said the complexity of EVS meant repair costs were often more expensive, pushing up the premiums.

A spokesperson said: “While on the one hand electric vehicles tend to be smaller and less powerful, they also need specialist parts and skills to repair so may cost more to insure in some cases.

“But drivers can expect pressure on insurance premiums to reduce as the technology becomes more widespread.”