Electric Car Insurance

OldDIYer

Can only find old posts about this, but despite statements to the contrary from online searches, it's expensive!  I will be paying over 100% more for my new Tesla model 3 v my old BMW 520d. I've done the comparison sites and Direct Line, but it's going to cost lots to be environmentally friendly. 

Have others found the same or am I unlucky?

SiliconChip

Well for one thing the Tesla will be worth a great deal more than your BMW. I'm not sure that you're really comparing like for like, a better check might be to compare the cost of insuring something like a Corsa and a Corsa-e, which are basically the same vehicle.

[Deleted User]

I am with Aviva. I have just renewed my policy and it came in c. £145 cheaper than Admiral; Direct Line and LV.

Grumpy_chap

OldDIYer said:

Can only find old posts about this, but despite statements to the contrary from online searches, it's expensive!  I will be paying over 100% more for my new Tesla model 3 v my old BMW 520d. I've done the comparison sites and Direct Line, but it's going to cost lots to be environmentally friendly. 

Have others found the same or am I unlucky?

Is this "double" premium, the full-year cost or the impact of the mid-year change?  It seems to me that mid-year changes are always expensive.

The value of your vehicle should only have a small impact to the premium as most of the potential liability is injury compensation plus potential to damage other vehicles / property.

Is the performance of the TM3 greater than the performance of the 520d?  Are you comparing like-for-like cover, e.g. comprehensive / TPFT, annual mileage, extra inclusions?

Have you tried the TESLA-affinity insurance?
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/insuremytesla

[Deleted User]

Grumpy_chap said:

OldDIYer said:

Can only find old posts about this, but despite statements to the contrary from online searches, it's expensive!  I will be paying over 100% more for my new Tesla model 3 v my old BMW 520d. I've done the comparison sites and Direct Line, but it's going to cost lots to be environmentally friendly. 

Have others found the same or am I unlucky?

Is this "double" premium, the full-year cost or the impact of the mid-year change?  It seems to me that mid-year changes are always expensive.

The value of your vehicle should only have a small impact to the premium as most of the potential liability is injury compensation plus potential to damage other vehicles / property.

Is the performance of the TM3 greater than the performance of the 520d?  Are you comparing like-for-like cover, e.g. comprehensive / TPFT, annual mileage, extra inclusions?

Have you tried the TESLA-affinity insurance?
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/insuremytesla

From an underwriter's perspective, I would have thought that a TM3 was much attractive to thieves than a diesel guzzling 520D. EVs may be cheaper to service but they are much more expensive to repair. For example, 3 years ago, the rear glass shattered on my i3 rear hatch. As all the rear LED lights were stuck to the glass, they all came loose. The cost of a new hatch alone was just over £500, and then there was the labour.

daveyjp

Tesla has the performance of a supercar.  0-60 in 3ish seconds. A 520d doesn't.

Couple that performance with cost to repair (no pattern parts) and likelihood of a write off after a fairly minor prang if the batteries are damaged and it becomes an expensive car to insure.

Sandtree

daveyjp said:

Tesla has the performance of a supercar.  0-60 in 3ish seconds. A 520d doesn't.

Couple that performance with cost to repair (no pattern parts) and likelihood of a write off after a fairly minor prang if the batteries are damaged and it becomes an expensive car to insure.

Or 5.8 seconds if they have bought the standard model 

Performance is only one consideration, I was at one point considering either getting a new SL500 or a Mini S and the Mini would have been the more expensive one to insure despite being quarter the price, much worse performance etc etc but this is where the insurer considers what claims experience they are getting from the cars which will factor in the expense of repairs but also the kind of people that own them hence little cars tend to be more expensive than boring family cars because so many are owned by teenagers.

Personally if I do a quote for a SL and a mid range Tesla S there is only about a 10% price difference between the two unless I go for Admiral's black box insurance at which point the price for the SL is much cheaper whereas the S is fairly static.

It would be helpful if the OP could confirm if this is a mid term adjustment increase or new business pricing and if the later, if they have done a NB quote for the 520 too as premiums may well have just generally gone up for them this year. You have to also consider the secondary aspects... presumably you'd owned the 520 for a couple of years and so had experience whereas the Tesla will be brand new to you so the length of ownership has also changed and will have increased the premium too.

Grumpy_chap

[Deleted User] said:

EVs may be cheaper to service but they are much more expensive to repair. For example, 3 years ago, the rear glass shattered on my i3 rear hatch. As all the rear LED lights were stuck to the glass, they all came loose. The cost of a new hatch alone was just over £500, and then there was the labour.

I am not sure that analogy is linked to the i3 being an EV vs ICE.
The cost for the rear screen being the bootlid is the same for any car with that type of design, so I'd imagine an ICE as humble as the C1 would be similarly affected.

OldDIYer

Thanks for the comments. To clarify: my policy for the BMW (7 yrs old) was to renew on 22/03/22 at £194 (from £213 last year).  The new car (Tesla M3 RWD ('basic' model) being delivered 15/03/22) from 22/03 was going to be £429, with a compulsory extra EV excess of £500 making £580, with Quote Me Happy (Aviva).  Didn't get the part-year cost as I took a new Policy from the delivery date with Saga for £441 with a £150 excess. It would have been a lot less with a £500 excess.  I got a quote from the Tesla link above, which goes to Direct Line, and it was £578 on a like-for-like basis, but with £200 excess.

So, it seems to be a combination of my age (quite old), value of car, repair costs and performance.