DRIVERS who swapped their petrol cars for electric vehicles say they’ve been “punished” by insurance companies offering sky high premiums or suddenly refuse to cover them.
Members of a Facebook group have shared stories of how insurers have raised premiums by thousands of pounds over a year.
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Some members claimed that some high street insurers were no longer covering electric vehicles.
One owner told The Guardian of his ordeal: ” When it was coming up for renewal, I received a letter stating that they would not be covering the Tesla Model Y any more.”
David, in his 30s and from Bradford, considered ending his lease agreement due to the predicament he was in.
He added: “I’m fortunate that I earn a decent wage and don’t have a mortgage that has increased as well because we are renting at the minute.
“I checked to see if I could change the car model but I’d have to pay an £8,000 forfeit.”
David, not his real name, managed to reach a deal with Admiral, who agreed to reduced the cost by £75 a month to £404.
Journalist Alex Gerlis told The Guardian how he bought a Smart EQ Forfour last year.
He was covered by one big name insurance company, who it advised him it would not be able to offer a renewal because it was not insuring electric cars.
The letter informing him said: “Having reviewed your current details, we won’t be able to renew your car insurance policy.”
Speaking to The Guardian he said: “I can understand that premiums might go up but to have a blanket ‘no’ on insuring electric cars is
incompatible with their claim to be environmentally friendly.
“It put its car insurance business out to tender but what it didn’t do is say that ‘environmental and climate action is important to us, so this must include electric vehicles.”
The Association of British Insurers insisted that the motor insurance market “remains competitive, with cover for electric vehicles available from a wide range of providers”.
It added: “Our members fully support the rollout of electric vehicles and efforts to transition to net zero.
Whether to offer insurance, and at what price, is a commercial decision for insurers based on their risk appetite.”
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.