A few years ago, EVs were more expensive to insure than petrol or diesel cars. This was because of their higher purchase price, the cost of their batteries, the higher cost of repairing them and the low number of garages equipped to do so.
Additionally, when the EV market was in its infancy, drivers often had to rely on specialist insurance providers for cover. Lack of competition in the sector meant higher premiums for drivers.
However, 2020 was a major turning point for electric vehicle insurance. With electric vehicles becoming more popular, their purchase price falling, and more insurers entering the market, EVs became much cheaper to insure - often cheaper than petrol or diesel equivalents.
Research conducted by used car dealer heycar revealed that in 2020 drivers of the EV Nissan Leaf paid an average of £394 per year for car insurance, while owners of Ford Fiestas paid an average of £550 per year, despite the Fiesta being smaller and cheaper to buy.
At the higher end of the market, the Tesla Model 3 is still expensive to insure but premiums have fallen steeply- from £1464 in 2019 to £1223 in 2020 - putting the car's insurance costs in line with luxury fossil fuel vehicles.
Data gathered by insurance giant LV= confirms those figures. It found in 2022 that insurance premiums for EVs average £297 per year, compared to the £310 paid by drivers of petrol and diesel cars. The difference in average premiums doesn't amount to much, but some popular EVs are substantially cheaper to insure. Premiums for the ID.3 and the Vauxhall are 22% and 33% cheaper, respectively, than premiums for their fossil fuel equivalents, meaning savings of potentially hundreds of pounds
Other factors than the make of your vehicle will affect your insurance premiums, but you won’t be penalised by insurers for choosing an electric vehicle.