Compulsory liability and accident insurance for electric cars are slowly being compared to internal combustion engines, but one brand stands out – Garáž.cz

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It doesn’t matter if you drive a petrol, diesel or battery car on the road. One of the conditions for legal driving is to have liability insurance for damage caused by the operation of the vehicle, commonly known as compulsory liability insurance.

Optionally (not required), people take out accident insurance so that they don’t have to pay for potentially expensive repairs out of their own money.

However, electric cars are still relatively special vehicles, which differ in structure compared to combustion models, which also affects subsequent service, repairs, the level of damage, and therefore intervention the IZS no tow truck in the event of an accident with an electric vehicle.

So what are the differences in liability and accident insurance for electric cars compared to combustion models? We asked about this directly at the source, namely representatives of the insurance company Kooperativa.

In general, insurance companies at decide on the high price for liability and accident insurance based on many criteria that have a direct impact on the final amount offered to the client (that is, you). In particular, it is about:

To clarify, the operator is the person or company registered in the technician/register responsible for the vehicle, and the policy holder is the person or company who has taken out an insurance contract ended with the insurance company. It may or may not be the same person/company.

If the vehicle is then driven by one driver or another driver, it will not affect the calculation of the insurance premium, unless, for example, it is an operating lease for a company, where the insurance company naturally expects a change of drivers, and therefore a higher risk of damage.

However, the nuts and bolts don’t end there. In some elderly people electric cars sometimes we come across a difference between the highest marketing performance and the highest performance reported on paper. Although the value submitted by the manufacturer may be higher (perhaps the one that can be achieved in the short term), for the insurance company what is written in the technical license / card vehicle in the authoritative central register.

The frequency of claims also has a significant impact on the price of liability and accident insurance (probability of damage) and the average damage rate. This means that if drivers (so operators, policyholders) of brand X crash more statistically and cause significant damage, they will have higher insurance premiums than drivers of brand Z who crash less and causing less damage.

“These two factors in the case of electric cars show higher values, ie the insurance price is higher than in the case of conventional driving. In addition, an electric car is still a bit more expensive compared to a similar car with a normal driver, so the insurance rate is also higher, which depends on the level of accident insurance,” explained Václav Geletič from Kooperativa.

The reasons, however, are logical. On the one hand, it is the generally higher weight of electric cars and the more frequent movement in cities (more risk of accidents) and on the other hand, the level of use of expensive parts. After all, several electric cars still smell like new or less. We are also talking about an expensive traction battery, maybe about increasing service levels for some brands.

Again, this is not surprising, because electric cars must have a special service station, sometimes also parking spaces, and some repairs can only be done by a trained specialist. It also follows that not all services, even those contracted by the insurance company, will repair a battery-powered car.

Price attracts damage or damaged electric caras a more specialized towing vehicle must go for it due to increased weight or towing regulations. And it’s more expensive than a regular tow truck.

However, the cooperation can provide insurance for electric cars, including the protection of the traction battery in cases where a short circuit or overheating occurs. The insurance also covers damage caused by carelessness at the charging station.

And how much does liability insurance and accident insurance cost for an electric car? It is still a very big alchemy, because the share of electric cars on Czech roads is very small.

“We are currently collecting real data, and accordingly we will assess the real risk of electric cars. At the moment, the proportion of electric cars in the current stock does not even reach 1%, so it is still a small sample. So far, the current insurance price is not much different from the insurance price of comparable normal cars,” said expert Václav Geletič.

In particular, at Kooperativa, the average annual liability insurance for an electric car is around CZK 3,900, while an accident it costs an average of about 14,000 CZK per year. However, other insurance companies may offer completely different prices, both higher and lower.

We also asked if any brands stood out. And (you) will not be surprised, there is such a man. North American models Tesla they used to pay more for repairs, however, with the development of the brand’s service network and due to the general increase in prices, the differences in repair prices (Tesla vs others) is gradually decreasing.

Václav Geletič from the leading Czech insurance company Kooperativa says that if we were to compare an electric car with an internal combustion model with the same insurance amount (ie all impact factors will be almost the same) , the insurance amount paid by the client will be the result. be more or less the same. According to Geletič, Kooperativa does not currently have a disqualification, but there is no preferential treatment for electric cars.

At the moment, at least at Kooperativa, the situation is that the insurance company only collects data, evaluates it and makes a few more financial leaps within the insurance framework for electric cars vs. burning plants. And it is very likely that other insurance companies will follow a similar model. Further development will therefore only be explained in a period related to the expected increase in the number of electric cars operating in the Czech Republic.