When Samuel Lessard decided to replace his Ram pickup with an electric equivalent, he determined the new Ford F-150 Lightning was just about the perfect vehicle.
In the U.K., where BEVs accounted for 16.6 per cent market share in 2022, nearly double that of Canada, things are more troubling. Some insurance carriers there are refusing to insure electric cars, citing high repair costs, and are taking a wait-and-see approach to underwriting EV policies. Many other drivers in the U.K. are facing skyrocketing premiums, according to anin The Guardian. One insurance-quote comparison site pegged the average increase for EV insurance at 72 per cent in a year.
A closer look at the IBC’s insurance claim index, which includes data on a large cross-section of vehicles from 2003-2021, shows that Teslas have some of the highest claim costs in Canada. While some Canadians are receiving discounts for insuring EVs, many EV drivers, including Lessard, are noticing their insurance premiums are already higher than anticipated.
At least one expert agreed that, gas or electric, the price of a policy depends on the circumstances.