Electric Vehicles and Insurance Nightmares

Minor accidents are resulting in EVs being written off (or totaled). Damaged electric cars ‘quarantined’ over fears they will explode

Government guidelines recommend electric vehicles with damaged batteries should be “quarantined” from other vehicles due to the risk of battery fires. Damaged batteries pose a risk of “thermal runaway” where the energy stored in the battery releases rapidly, creating temperatures of up to 400C.

But the practice threatens to increase costs for the insurance industry by more than £600m, costs which ultimately could be passed onto drivers in increased premiums, according to a report by automotive risk firm Thatcham Research.

£600 million is about $775 million. And that should read "Will be passed onto drivers," not "could be." Insurance companies are not just going to say that they don't need that money. Premiums will go up.

Here is more on the subject. Electric vehicles claims are 25% higher than petrol cars

This is because of a 'concerning lack of affordable or available repair solutions and post-accident diagnostics', which often sees EVs written off as uneconomical to be returned to the road.

This is most commonly the case if the high-voltage battery pack has sustained damage as a result of a collision.

Batteries in electric cars represent a substantial percentage of the original vehicle value and if harmed in anyway often sees insurers deem the cost to repair or replace them exceed the car's total existing value.

And in some cases it is even worse. In the Tesla Y, for example, the battery is an integral part of the vehicle structure and cannot be replaced. The Tesla Y is an SUV, but this seems to imply that going off-road may damage it. Maybe not... It does seem to imply that the battery will limit the life of the vehicle, if you can't replace it.

So whatever laws are passed, it is clear that the law of unintended consequences has not been repealed.

Hat tip to Small Dead Animals: Sparky Cars Go Boom.