As a vehicle owner, a driver, and a smart consumer who wants to save money, it is very important to make the right choice when it comes to car insurance. With so many options to choose from, making the choice that fits your needs the best becomes very difficult.
But people who own and operate an electric car should be very thoughtful and careful when purchasing auto insurance policies for multiple reasons. The electric vehicle sector is growing at a rapid rate with more and more car manufacturers getting into making electric cars.
The similarities between a gas car and an electric car are few, but the differences are a lot. All these differences not only affect the price and driving experience of these electric cars but also create some changes in their auto insurance requirements.
This article will discuss in detail everything you need to know about insuring your electric vehicle in the Unites States and all the important steps you need to keep in mind before spending your hard-earned money and getting a mediocre auto insurance policy. Let’s get started.
Choose the Policy for Electric Cars
Before you start your search for car insurance policies specifically made for electric cars, let us tell you that no auto insurance company makes specific auto insurance policies for EVs. This is because a general car insurance policy works perfectly well for electric cars.
So what did we mean by saying choosing the policy for electric cars? When you are looking for auto insurance policies, make sure that you get insurance quotes from all the major and relevant car insurance companies. Get a quote for your electric car, not any general gas car.
Some companies provide much better and more affordable car insurance policies for electric vehicles. So you can get a better coverage policy for your electric car if you look for the right car insurance company. If you want to check great auto insurance policies, get additional info on the internet.
So the tip would be to find the car insurance company that offers the right policy for your electric car at the best prices. Remember cheaper is not always better, especially for electric cars. Focus more on the price-to-coverage ratio.
Increase Collision Coverage Limit
Your auto insurance’s coverage limit is the maximum amount of money the insurance company will give in case of an insurance claim. So if you get in a car accident and your coverage limit is $50,000, that is the maximum you can get. If the cost of repairs exceeds, you’ll have to pay from your pocket.
You can of course increase your coverage limit to make sure you do not end up paying from your pocket, but that increases the insurance premium rates and if you do not need a high coverage limit, then it is a waste of money.
This cannot be said for electric cars. Electric cars are expensive not only to buy but also insure. This is because there are expensive computers, fewer moving parts inside, and a giant heavy battery that’s prone to damage. This near-monolithic design of these cars causes a lot of issues when repairing them.
So if you have an electric car, it would be smart to increase your collision coverage limit to a much higher amount because in case your car gets damaged, the cost of repairs would be enormous. With a high coverage limit, you can be assured that none of the money would drain out of your pocket.
Yes, this will increase your car insurance premium but there’s no workaround for this one. You have to consider it as one of the costs of using an electric car. Not all electric cars are expensive to repair (unless the battery is damaged, then the cost is almost always high).
Cars such as Nissan Leaf are one of the cheapest cars to insure and repair. Tesla and other electric cars are very expensive to repair. A six-inch crack on the windshield of a Tesla can cost you around $1,000 to repair.
Keep Deductibles Low
Your insurance deductible is the amount you need to pay first in an insurance claim before the company starts paying the rest of the claim amount. You can decide to keep your deductibles lower or higher depending on your needs.
But if you own an electric car, you should keep the deductibles lower. This will increase the premium rates, but it will be worth it in case your car gets into an accident. Lower deductibles mean that even if the cost of the repairs is low, you can claim your policy.
Let’s say that the cost of repairs comes to around $800. If your deductible is below $800, say $500, you can make a claim. The reason why you should keep the deductibles low when you have an electric car is that even small repairs could cost thousands of dollars.
If your deductible is high, say $1,500, any repair that costs less than the deductible amount must be paid for by you. Imagine hitting your car slightly on the curb and getting an $800 repair bill, then finding out you can’t claim insurance because the deductibles are high.
Conclusion
Apart from these minor changes, there is not much to change in your auto insurance policies for insuring an electric car. The only thing that you need to keep in mind while getting policies is that electric cars are more expensive to buy and repair. So choose the policies accordingly, and you’ll be good to go.
