Electric vehicles were once seen as almost science fiction and were then seen as exclusively for the rich. As they gradually become more affordable, more and more people in Ontario are purchasing electric cars, each for different reasons. Some are enticed by the increase in charging stations available around the province. Others like the fact that electric vehicles are better for the environment. Yet others like the long-term savings of a longer-lasting vehicle that needs less maintenance and no gas. Regardless of the reason, the demand for these vehicles is increasing, and if you want one, financially protecting yourself means you need electric car insurance. That’s where your trusted insurance broker can help.
The team at Morison Insurance wants you to have the protection you need for you and your electric vehicle. Whether you’re a first-time EV owner or an early adopter, we’ll ensure you are properly protected with the right electric car insurance coverage. Using our connections with leading insurance providers in Ontario, we’ll find you policy options that fit your unique needs, as well as find you electric car insurance discounts to reward your green driving habits. Give us a call today to get the electric car coverage you deserve at a price you can afford!
As the name implies, electric car insurance is a type of Ontario car insurance policy specifically designed for your electric vehicle. Electric car insurance, like any other auto insurance policy, provides financial protection against physical damage, bodily injury, and liability should you suffer from a loss to your vehicle.
Let’s say, for instance, you are involved in an accident that causes damage to your electric vehicle. With the right electric car insurance and coverages, you can avoid paying for these losses out-of-pocket, as your insurance provider will cover the costs of repair or replacements.
While there are many different types of insurance coverages that are not legally necessary—even if it is still a very good idea to have them—car insurance is not one of them.
Unlike other forms of insurance, car insurance is mandatory, regardless of whether you use a gas car, an electric vehicle, or a hybrid car. If you own a vehicle in the province of Ontario, the government mandates that you have insurance in the event of a claim. While it is not a criminal offence to drive without vehicle insurance, you will still face steep penalties if caught driving without it, including fines, license suspension, and vehicle impoundment. So, if you drive an electric vehicle in Ontario, you need to have electric car insurance.
If you already own a vehicle, you should already have a car insurance policy in place. Changing your current vehicle insurance to an electric car policy may be as simple as any vehicle substitution you’ve done in the past. Simply contact a Morison Insurance broker to ensure you have the mandatory coverages and review other features and options available to you for your electric car insurance plan.
An electric car is a vehicle that uses an electric motor and batteries for power to move. To charge and recharge the batteries, the vehicle must be plugged into a wall charging outlet or a charging station. Plug-in Electric vehicles (EVs) must be regularly hooked up to an EV charger to recharge their batteries. A Tesla Model 3 would be an example of an electric car, along with the Chevrolet Equinox EV, the Nissan Leaf, the Kia EV9, and the Hyundai Kona Electric.
All-electric cars are different from plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which use an internal combustion engine powered by gasoline and batteries to power an electric motor. Generally, once the electric batteries are out of power, the car switches to using the gasoline-powered engine.
There are several makes and models of electric vehicles available for purchase. The distance an EV driver can travel before recharging the electric car battery varies by make and model. More public charging stations are being installed across Ontario, which will increase charging convenience. The time required to charge an electric vehicle also varies based on several factors.
If you want to learn about fuel consumption, Natural Resources Canada has an easy online tool to compare fuel consumption for Ontarian and Canadian drivers.
Electric car insurance covers various expenses related to electric car accidents, losses and claims. This includes liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage, accident benefits coverage for items such as medical bills and lost wages due to an automobile accident, and collision and comprehensive insurance coverage to cover repair costs if a vehicle is damaged. An auto insurance policy will provide the same coverage to an electric car as it would for a gas-powered vehicle, hybrid or luxury vehicle if you are sued due to an auto accident.
Many insurance coverages are available, and there are always opportunities to increase the coverage on your electric car insurance policy. If you want to know what your insurance covers, contact your Morison Insurance broker, who will be more than happy to walk you through all of your auto insurance options and choose the best coverage for your needs.
For the most part, electric car insurance is the same as insurance for other vehicles, although there are some small differences. Like standard auto insurance coverage, it includes mandatory coverage such as protection against collisions, third-party liability coverage and uninsured automobile coverage, as well as optional auto coverage such as accident forgiveness. Providers of electric car insurance policies offer a green vehicle discount, which can reduce the cost of insurance, but overall premiums also tend to be higher due to electric vehicles having a higher replacement cost because their parts cost more on average and they have unique components such as regenerative braking systems. Additionally, while electric cars are becoming more popular, there can still be issues with finding repair shops that are equipped to repair and service EVs, especially in less populated areas.
Electric car insurance may also contain different coverages compared to traditional car insurance. For example, electric car insurance policies may contain additional coverage for the vehicle’s expensive lithium-ion batteries or even for at-home EV charging stations. As gasoline vehicles are not equipped with these features, the costs of these coverages are not a concern for their drivers. Hybrid vehicle insurance may also contain coverage for hybrid batteries, inverters, and other specialized parts, but as these types of vehicles don’t need home charging stations and have wider availability for repairs, these costs aren’t a factor for their insurance as well.
Despite these differences, a lot of the factors in determining the cost of your electric car insurance are the same as they would be for a gas-powered vehicle or a hybrid. If you have any questions on the difference between electric car insurance and traditional car insurance, contact your Morison Insurance broker, and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Technically speaking, your electric car insurance policy can cover a hybrid vehicle. Despite technically being different vehicles, hybrids and electric vehicles follow many of the same rules regarding insurance, as they are both eligible for the green vehicle discount. Moreover, electric and hybrid cars follow many of the same rules as gas-powered vehicles.
That being said, when discussing your hybrid car insurance needs with your licensed broker, it is important to specify what type of vehicle you are insuring. Otherwise, you may not properly protect your car. For instance, while both types of vehicles have batteries and similar specialized parts, electric car insurance can contain specialized coverages for roadside assistance to be towed to nearby charging stations or jump starts, which is not necessarily needed for hybrids. Additionally, many EV owners get coverage for home charging infrastructure
Conventional hybrid vehicles don’t require external charging, as regenerative braking and their internal combustion engine will provide the energy needed to recharge their battery. Owners of PHEVs may be interested in upgrading to a level 2 charging station for faster charging, but for many PHEV owners, a level 1 or a standard 120-volt outlet is sufficient. If you have any questions about the differences between the coverages for hybrid and electric car insurance, your Morison Insurance broker will happily answer them.
Insurance for an electric car is not inherently more expensive than auto insurance for traditional gas-powered cars. On the surface, electric car insurance may seem more costly than insurance for other vehicles, but that is due to the increased average replacement cost of electric vehicles, the cost of specialized parts, and the availability of shops equipped to handle EV repair. As the prices involved in these factors go down, so will the cost of electric vehicle insurance. Additionally, there are many green driving insurance discounts EV owners can take advantage of to lower their insurance rates.
Electric car insurance premiums vary from driver to driver depending on numerous factors, including how long the driver has been licensed, if the driver has any tickets, convictions and/or accidents, the driver’s driving history, and what the vehicle is used for. There may also be green vehicle discounts or hybrid vehicle discounts available for additional auto insurance savings. Ask your Morison Insurance broker for details on this and other ways you can save on your electric car insurance.
An auto insurance premium is an amount we pay to insure our vehicles. The bulk of our insurance premium goes to “road-and-driving” coverage. This takes into account our responsibility to society should we cause an event where property is damaged or others get hurt. These exposures are the same whether you drive an electric vehicle or a vehicle fueled by other energy sources. The cost to repair a vehicle, the value of a car, where a vehicle is garaged, and how often it is driven are factors that contribute to the price of physical damage coverage. Often, newer vehicles will generate a lower annual premium because they are considered very safe, having been manufactured with safety features not offered in years past, such as cameras and autonomous emergency braking.
The annual cost of your electric car insurance premium is determined by numerous factors, including the insurance provider you choose, where you live, the age of the driver, the number of years licensed, driving record, claims record, use of vehicle, distance driven, and year, make and model of your electric car, the specific coverages you choose, and many others.
|
VEHICLE (new model) |
APPROX. PRICE (per year) |
|
Chevrolet Bolt |
$1,802 - $4,360 |
|
Hyundai Kona Electric |
$1,862 - $4,598 |
|
Nissan Leaf |
$1,763 - $4,160 |
|
$2,176 – $4,200 |
*The prices above were provided with the assumption that the driver had a good driving record (no previous tickets or accidents).
Keep in mind that these insurance quotes are estimates and may not reflect your situation for electric car insurance. To get a more accurate quote and a more tailored electric car policy, it is important to be as detailed and clear as possible when speaking with your Morison Insurance broker about your electric vehicle needs.
No two drivers are alike, so why should they pay the same for their electric car insurance? Even if you and another person drive the exact same type of EV, differences in personal and driving habits will mean your insurance needs will differ. That’s why gas, hybrid, and electric car insurance providers take into account a wide range of variables when calculating your vehicle insurance costs.
The factors that impact rates for electric car insurance include, but are not limited to:
Please note that this is not a complete list of electric car insurance cost factors. If you would like to learn more about the factors that determine the rates involved in determining an electric vehicle insurance quote, your Morison Insurance broker will be happy to answer any questions when you begin your electric car insurance quote.
Since many of the factors that determine the rates of electric car insurance are under your control, you can do a few things to lower your rate. Here are a few examples of things you can do to lower your electric car insurance rates:
Please note that these are not the only actions you can take. Your Morison Insurance Broker would know more ways that you would be able to save money on your electric car insurance. If you contact them to begin an electric car insurance quote, they will be more than happy to help you find additional ways to save on your electric car coverage.
Insurance companies want to reward their customers. That’s why they offer a wide variety of driver discounts. You’ve probably heard of good drivers and claims-free discounts, as well as usage-based and telematic insurance programs designed to lower the cost of your insurance, but another increasingly popular discount is specifically for electric vehicles.
While it does depend on the insurance company, green vehicle discounts can help lower the cost of your electric car insurance by up to five percent. It’s basically their way of saying thank you for choosing a more eco-friendly vehicle to drive and lowering your carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. But green discounts aren’t the only way you can save on your electric car insurance. These green driving discounts are in addition to dozens of other money-saving car insurance discounts you may qualify to receive, such as claims-free, clean driving record, multi-policy, and many more.
While we have touched on winter tire and good driver discounts above, you can also, for instance, take advantage of safe vehicle discounts on insurance for EVs. Most zero-emission vehicles are equipped with an automatic braking system, which can qualify for an additional discount with some insurance companies. You can also get discounts for a second car, having a graduated license, completing a driving training program, policy renewals, and much more.
If you are looking for as many types of discounts as possible on your auto insurance coverage, your Morison Insurance broker would be happy to help you save money.
You can get an electric car insurance quote from the insurance experts at Morison Insurance. No matter the type of vehicle you drive, our professional brokers will provide you with multiple auto insurance quotes for policies by the top insurance companies in Ontario to get you the best electric vehicle insurance policy at the right price. Whether you need business insurance, car insurance, or home insurance, we can help get you the right comprehensive coverage options.
Get started on your electric car insurance today by calling 1-800-463-8074 or by filling out the contact form on our website.
