Electric car insurance: These are the cheapest electric cars to insure, from Fiat to Volkswagen
New insurance data has revealed the EVs with the cheapest insurance premiums and those that cost the most to cover.
Fiat’s cute retro-styled 500 Electric is the UK’s cheapest electric car to insure, according to the latest figures from comparison giant MoneySuperMarket. The range-topping La Prima trim of the diminutive EV costs an average of £518 per year.
That is just £4 per year more than the Nissan Leaf Tekna, which takes second place on the list of most affordable EVs to insure. The grandfather of modern mainstream EVs, the Leaf is a sensible five-door family hatchback, and two different versions are among the practical family cars to appear on the list alongside city cars and crossovers.
EV insurance has long been considered significantly more expensive than cover for petrol or diesel cars, but the new figures from the MoneySuperMarket electric car insurance index, show prices are falling and many models are as affordable as ICE cars.
Costing an average of £528 per year, the previous-generation electric Mini Cooper S is the third cheapest electric car to insure in Level 2 specification, with the better-equipped Level 3 model still coming in in eighth place.
Two variants of the Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback are also among the cheapest EVs to insure – costing between £535 and £548 – along with the closely related Cupra Born.
Alicia Hempsted, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket said: “Electric cars are often perceived as being more expensive to insure, but these rankings challenge that assumption. Models like the Mini Cooper S, Volkswagen ID.3, and Vauxhall Mokka-e all have insurance costs below the national average, making them attractive choices for drivers looking to switch to an EV without high running costs.”
Although all the cars in the top 10 undercut the average premium EVs overall still cost more to insure, according to MoneySuperMarket. The average electric car insurance premium is £724, compared with the overall UK car insurance average of £546.
That is partly due to limited claims data, which makes it harder for insurers to fine-tune their premiums. However, it is also partly down to EVs sometimes requiring more complex and time-consuming repairs than ICE models, and the risk of battery damage leading to a total write-off of a vehicle.
Most expensive EVs to insure
That is reflected in the list of the most expensive EVs to insure, which is dominated by Tesla. The US brand’s cars have been dogged by problems in the past with slow parts supply and expensive repair bills due to their ‘megacasting’ construction.
Porsche, however, takes the top two spots with variants of its Taycan super-saloon. The Taycan 4S and entry-level Taycan cost £1,568 and £1,370 per year respectively. Beneath them, various iterations of the Tesla Model Y take the next three spots, costing between £1,246 and £1,308. The Tesla Model S in 90D and 75D variants are in sixth and eighth position, split by yet another Model Y variant.
The last two spots go to Audi, whose e-tron Coupe and e-tron SUV cost £1,143 and £1,131 per year, respectively.
While premium and hard-to-repair models will always attract higher insurance costs, Alicia Hempsted expects EV premiums to drop towards parity with petrol and diesel cars over the next few years.
She commented: “We’re already seeing some electric car models coming in with competitive insurance rates, and we expect to see electric vehicle premiums continue to come down in price over the next few years.
“This is down to insurers having more real-world claims data to use in their pricing models and improved technology, which should make EVs less susceptible to being written off in accidents, as well as cheaper and quicker repair costs for electric cars.”
