EV car insurance IMO are interesting as many have all round cameras , good security and the most up to date safety and inbuilt recorders that can tell an insurer and police full GPS data and also throttle position and g forces. These are all tools if accessed that insurers / police can use to limit their claims and make client pay in regards to dangerous driving . However on the other side theft due to tracking may be a lower risk and without skills in community to use parts demand for stolen ones may be less. In regards to battery safety cars are pretty advanced but as they age due to the fact they are in motion there is likely higher risk as parts fatigue, poor repairs . Those in Australia has some terrible roads . Insurers know the EV owners may be making emotional / green purchase decisions and may not be as concerned with insurance premium cost so .................
Accident repair and spare parts supply for EV is long delays , need high skills , specialists etc . That costs insurers so leads to higher premiums.
The whole fire thing is a factor but I honestly don't know the risk but insurers do know that once a lithium battery fire starts it is hard to extinguish and will because of its duration ignite anything near it and often small explosions throw cells on fire quite a distance
There will be written off EV that will never be able to be registered again but the battery component may be viable to be used for other purposes as they are high quality .
What will house insurers do - ? They will start to ask if you have a battery and IMO apply a premium to premium for risk of fire and may start to ask if battery is mounted inside property or in external location so it is accessible by fire brigade etc. Building codes will change in regards to making sure all batteries are in a fire protected area in future or people will do it to reduce insurance on newbuild especially in strata and industrial. Insurers already ask about if you have solar panels installed .
Will insurers give a toss if it is lithium of another chemical - probably not they will just ask if you have a battery in future is my guess and put all in same risk box . Truth is they should be asking if you or kids have a scooter or toy rather than a bloody house battery but I guess the fine print in future policy will exclude fires from lithium sports goods being charged indoors as such poor quality control in so many products
The Insurance Council of Australia attributes the higher cost of EV insurance to a range of factors, from the expense of imported parts and electric car batteries to the dearth of electric vehicle service centres and qualified EV repairers.
"EVs are typically more expensive and have more complex systems and components, specifically motor parts and batteries, than other vehicles," a spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Australia told Drive.
"Repairing EVs requires importing parts to Australia, and there are few EV service centres and specialty tradespeople to fix any damage, which may mean damaged vehicles would have to be transported for repair. All this adds to repair costs and is therefore reflected in higher insurance premiums."
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