Car Insurance For Electric Vehicles Explained

20 November 2018

You’ve taken the leap into electric vehicles, leaving behind petrol fumes and high bills at the forecourt lured by the prospect of low running costs, no vehicle tax, and low emissions. Or maybe you’re just considering ditching fuel tanks for plugs and are doing the maths, calculating whether the savings you can rack up with an EV, from the government’s rebate to lower servicing charges, can offset the higher initial outlay.

While electric vehicles are exempt from vehicle tax and from charges in London’s congestion zone, and you can rack up discounts on parking permits from many councils, you can’t avoid some of the standard costs of owning a vehicle. A major, unavoidable expense is for car insurance, which is a legal requirement for any vehicle using or even parked on public roads in the UK. If you’ve never sought out or arranged insurance for an electric vehicle, you might be baffled about where to start.

Cost and Providers:

You may heard electric vehicles are significantly more expensive to insure and that you’ll need to see out a specialist provider. It’s true that the market for electric vehicles, and therefore for insurance for electric vehicles, is still in its infancy. As of the end of September 2018, there are just 178,000 plug-in vehicles (including fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) registered in the UK, out of a total of 37.3m vehicles on our roads. But the number is rising quickly: there were 5,000 new registrations of plug-in vehicles each month of 2018, while in 2014 just 400 new plug-in vehicles were being driven off lots.

With the increasing uptake of EVs and hybrids, especially in the run up to the 2040 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, the cost and complication of insuring them will fall. Electric vehicle insurance policies will become standard fare from mainstream insurers.

Today, the higher purchase price of EVs drives up insurance premiums for them, as insurers need to consider to cost of replacing your vehicle if it’s stolen or damaged beyond repair.

But even now you might find insuring an electric vehicle might be comparable to, or even cheaper, than insuring a petrol- or diesel-powered car, owing to the small size and less powerful engines on EVs and the discounts some insurers can give you for driving environmentally-friendly cars.

However, the process of obtaining insurance quotes and policies for an electric vehicle is different than that for EVs and a rundown will be helpful as you start your electrically-powered journey.

What Impacts Cost of Insurance for Electric Vehicles:

You’re probably familiar with the features of a standard vehicle that can inflate, or reduce, your monthly premiums for its insurance, including its car insurance group, the size of its engine, and purchase price. For insuring electric vehicles, there’s a new calculus, accounting for who owns the battery and the risk posed by (not kidding) power cables.

leased batteries:

Some EV manufacturers like Renault and Clio offer motorists the option of buying the vehicle outright but leasing its battery, with a monthly fee and mileage agreement. These arrangements spare you the steep cost of replacing batteries when they lose functionality after a few years. But if you’re leasing the battery, you’ll need to inform your insurer when obtaining quotes, as a leased battery will affect who needs to be paid if your electric vehicle is written off. Additionally, some policies may not cover leased batteries.

power cables and liability:

Much like your smartphone, your electric vehicle will need to be charged, just with a very big cord. If you’re charging in your driveway or garage, you won’t have to worry about the cord trailing large distances. But if you’re charging your vehicle while it’s parked on the street or at a public charging station, that cord could pose a tripping hazard. When obtaining an insurance policy for your electric vehicle, you should ensure it provides enough liability cover to protect you if a member of the public face-plants over your cable.

fires from at-home charging:

If your electric vehicle or cable fire while plugged in in your driveway or garage you might wonder which insurance policy will pay out: your home insurance policy or the one for your car. That ultimately depends on where the fire originates, but the risk of an electric fault within your vehicle causing a fire that then destroys you home can push up premiums for car insurance for EVs.

green discounts:

Some insurers will offer discounts of up to 5% on your annual premiums as a reward for you driving an environmentally-friendly car. Others will make charitable donations to green causes in your name from your premiums or plant a certain number of trees.

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How Do Self-Driving Cars Really Compare To Human Drivers

Although a lot of comparisons have been made between self-driving vehicles and human drivers, not all of those comparisons have been fair or accurate. One study found that distracted driving accounted for approximately 4 million accidents each year. That is almost half of the 11 million crashes that take place on an annual basis. Unfortunately, the problem only seems to be getting worse as distractions like texting become more and more common. Researchers recently analyzed a group of 28 studies, comparing the data. According to their findings, texting or looking at a phone while driving can have numerous adverse effects, ranging from limiting the ability of the driver to detect stimuli, to decreasing reaction times, causing a loss of control over the vehicle, and increasing the rate of collisions. Based on this information, some researchers even believe that texting while driving is more dangerous than operating a vehicle at the legal limit for alcohol or while under the influence of marijuana. The problem isn't only limited to teenagers. Older adults are every bit as likely to be guilty of texting while driving. They are also far more likely to talk on their phones while driving. One of the primary arguments used by proponents of self-driving cars is that they eliminate distracted driving. This, in turn, could possibly decrease the number of crashes, limiting the number of deaths and injuries that occur on an annual basis. In actuality, however, comparisons between self-driving vehicles in human drivers don't necessarily bear that out. According to studies, over 90% of the automobile accidents that occur in the United States are caused by driver error. In theory, stopping these accidents could reduce the new for the Trevino Law Firm in Corpus Christi, but also, save the lives of the same number of people as were killed in Vietnam within just two years of the technology being introduced. As someone who researches human factors, I don't find that information adequate for evaluating whether or not automated vehicles would be better at avoiding crashes than humans. The only way to tell for sure is by evaluating how many times drivers avoid collisions. What are the actual odds of getting in a collision for a human driver? Of course, this is extremely hard to measure. For instance, say that you were trying to determine how many times you avoided bumping into people in the hall. To figure that out, you need to not only look at the amount of time that you spent walking down the hallway but also the number of people that were present. When a non-event occurs, it is usually overlooked or easily forgotten. However, to make a fair comparison between self-driving vehicles and human drivers, researchers need to gather statistics about the number of non-collisions that occur in both situations. Comparing Statistics Equally Accident statistics relating to human drivers are drawn from a number of different driving conditions. For instance, some statistics come from people driving when it is raining out while others come from people driving on dirt roads. The bulk of the data on self-driving vehicles, on the other hand, has been gathered from states in the western part of the country. Typically, these cars are only analyzed when the weather is good. The data itself is primarily recorded when the vehicles are driving on highways with multiple lanes in a single direction. In these types of situations, the primary tasks that the car has to accomplish include staying in its own lane and avoiding tailgating the vehicle in front of it. These types of tasks are relatively easy for automated vehicles. Of course, humans are also quite good at accomplishing these tasks. Until more data is gathered from other parts of the country and on different types of roads, however, it is difficult to make a fair comparison. In fact, it will most likely be a long time before a self-driving vehicle has the opportunity to drive as many miles on an annual basis as a typical human driver. One of the advantages of automated vehicles is that they don't succumb to human problems such as tiredness, anger, or drunkenness. At the same time, however, they lack the reasoning skills to deal with unexpected or confusing situations. They also can't really anticipate potentially dangerous situations that may be coming further down the road as a human driver could. Instead, they operate at the moment. Automated systems have a hard time distinguishing between different types of objects. A group of people waiting at a bus stop might look almost the same as an empty cornfield. If a vehicle is facing an emergency situation, most drivers take the course of action that will minimize damage to both themselves and the people around them. A self-driving vehicle doesn't have the ability to analyze the situation and decide on the best course of action. Instead, they only react in one way, which may not necessarily be the best way. Technological Advancements Create Fresh Complications Most people are on board with the idea of pursuing driverless technology, simply because there is the potential for it to reduce the number of accidents that occur. It would be amazing if these vehicles were able to stop car accidents altogether, eliminating deaths and injuries on the road. Of course, some people love getting behind the wheel and driving their vehicles. In that case, they may feel disappointed not to be able to drive their car. Of course, the new technology doesn't always result in better outcomes. All that you have to do is look at the aviation industry for examples. When new technology is introduced, the number of negative events usually increases temporarily. This may discourage people from fully embracing self-driving technology if this also occurs with automated vehicles. When comparing human drivers and self-driving vehicles, it is important to use caution. It is going to be a long time before all of the cars on the road are replaced by automated vehicles. In the meantime, self-driving cars and human drivers will have to interact with one another. How this will play out remains to be seen. If you want to honestly compare driverless technology and human drivers, you need to make sure that those comparisons are being made accurately and under the same circumstances. Comparing two different sets of data from different driving conditions won't give an accurate picture of how the technology performs in comparison to traditional vehicles. As with any major technological shift, it is important to proceed slowly and to use caution to avoid unexpected problems along the way.

How Many Wheels Are In The World? – Are You Excited To Know?

Have you ever wondered how many wheels are there in the world? The first answer that will come to the fore is that there are actually plenty of wheels, which are infinite in number. However, in this article, we will look at this interesting question a bit differently and find out how many wheels are in the world in particular. With the Automotive Industry growing in leaps and bounds every year, the number of wheels depends upon the large number of vehicles being produced. Estimations have speculated that the number of wheels could be anywhere around 37 billion globally. Furthermore, in this article, you will also know why this question is there in the first place and what is the motivation behind finding out how many wheels exist in the world. You will also know about the fact why many people want to know how many wheels are there in the world estimate, as well as the views of the people. How Many Wheels Are In The World Total? – General Background Many users on the internet and social media (Twitter in particular) organized a popular poll, which was mainly about whether there are more doors or more wheels in the world. Hence, there were two different opinions from different users, and the reasons that people came up with were also interesting and, in some cases, extremely funny. On the one hand, many people were of the opinion that there are more doors in the world since there are many buildings and a single building has several doors. On the other hand, others claimed that since there are too many vehicles in the world, the number of wheels outnumbers the doors. Many people from around the world participated in the poll, and many people enjoyed the answers on the poll. The poll was featured in many countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland, and many more. The person who started this poll is Ryan Nixon. According to him, he found similar questions in Quora, from where he took the idea. According to Ryan, the question he found on Quora is, “If you could have one superpower, what would it be?” To answer the question, Ryan replied, “The ability to know the answer to any question I wanted.” This is how he found the idea of asking the question to people on the internet. Although it may sound strange to you, this is actually how the poll started and got popular in no time. More Doors Or More Wheels – What About The Post? Image Source: static.tweaktown.com Ryan Nixon posted the poll on March 5, 2022, on his Twitter account with the Twitter ID @NewYorkNixon. In the poll, he posted, “My mates and I are having the STUPIDEST debate...And I am here for it. Do you think there are more doors or wheels in the world?” As of February 22, 2023, we found that there are 223,347 votes. The final results are already out. The poll results were close, as 53.6% of people voted for more wheels, while 46.4% of people voted for more doors. There are 4823 retweets of the post and 19,200 likes on the post. Furthermore, 4414 people quoted the tweet. From the moment Ryan posted the tweet, it went viral in no time. Within three days, the post was one of the most viewed on the internet. Many experts are of the opinion that the reason behind the post being popular is that it was truly unique, and different people have different opinions about the post. Additionally, the post got popular quite fast on Facebook, Reddit, and other social platforms as well. What People Are Saying About The Doors Vs. Wheel Post? Image Source: media13.s-nbcnews.com You must have already understood that the post was unique and got popular due to it being interesting and funny at the same time. This is because hardly any people think about the number of doors and wheels in their own houses and cars, let alone the world. The funny part about the post is the way how many people came together to vote on the poll and have a debate in the comment section of the post. The question was, although simple, it was intriguing as well. For example, one person even commented, “Who is voting doors??? There’s wheels on everything. I have wheels on my garment rack, makeup storage holder, rubbish bin. It’s definitely wheels.” In return, Ryan Nixon replied, “You have more wheels in your house than doors? Think about cupboards, the pantry etc. Think about how many doors there would be in something like an apartment building or hotel...” Such conversations and opinions made the post extremely interesting. Some of the other comments that added fuel to the fire are: “Very solidly wheels. All cars have 4 wheels but 2-4 doors. An average home might have 6-10 doors but it also has 3 suitcases with 6-12 wheels. A collection of toy cars might have 400 wheels.” “How many suitcases with wheels on have you got in your house? I’ve got eight. That’s 32 wheels just there.” “Doors. Four door cars and trucks nullify themselves. All ships have doors, no wheels. All buildings have doors, no wheels. Doors.” “Doors by far. Most things with wheels have at least a 2:1 door-wheel ratio, and then you have all the other doors in the world.” “In my household there are 29 doors including fridge, cupboards, washing machine, tumble dryer and car. Got 4 wheels on my car and the hamster has a wheel, can’t think of any more wheels I’m saying doors." "Using the ideology that wheels are only for vehicles and doors only count if they can be walked through. Think it’s quite clear that doors win. Let me know if I’ve missed anything major or something needs explaining.” "Think it’s quite clear that doors win. Let me know if I’ve missed anything major or if something needs explaining.” "Doors. Four door cars and trucks nullify themselves. All ships have doors, no wheels. All buildings have doors, no wheels. Doors." "Easily doors There's double the number of homes in the world than there are other types of buildings too, eg shops, businesses etc Then on top of that, most vehicles have many doors too," "Must be wheel. Wheels is one of the earliest human inventions. Not only in vehicles, but also in rollerblades, suitcases, chairs, etc. Wheels also made each day more than doors." "Just to confuse this debate do you mean EVER or NOW? as this very much alters my answer. Also, is a broken door or wheel still a door or wheel? I need some rules here." "You have ruined my life, I've lost sleep over this." "This has sent me into a spiral and I can't escape it." What Is The Exact Answer To The Question? In every way, it is very hard to find out the exact number of wheels or doors. If, for example, you think about only cars, you have to consider it has four wheels and at least two doors. There are wheels in other vehicles as well. Furthermore, there are so many doors in houses, furniture, etc. On the other hand, there are also wheels in toys like Hot Wheels and Legos. Realistically speaking, the numbers are just too much for a person to count, as they are infinite. Hence, we will not be able to give you even a close idea. How Many Lego Wheels Are There In The World? Image Source: m.media-amazon.com In answer to how many Lego wheels there are in the world, you will need to estimate the number of car toys Lego produces. In a year, almost 17 billion toy cars are produced. Lego has sold approximately 6 billion wheels until now. As per a 2010 report, we found that Lego produces 318 million tires every year. Despite all these data, it is still hard to find out the number of wheels in this case too. Summing Up It is really hard to find how many wheels are in the world or even how many doors there are. Who knows! There can be billions of wheels and doors in the world. However, the best part about the question is that it is interesting and unique, and the post from where the question is inspired was a head-turner. Moreover, the post was funny, and the results were even funnier. Read Also: How Long Can You Go Without An Oil Change? What Type Of Vehicle Is Ideal For Off-Road Driving? How To Choose The Best Wheels And Tires For Your Vehicle?

5 Most Important Motorcycle Safety Tips All Riders Need to Know

Your helmet's off, your hair's blowing in the wind, and you're cruising down the highway with the sun setting in bright oranges and reds. Life is good, right? As good as life may be in the moment, you may be putting your life and others at risk through reckless driving and ignoring basic rules. Even if you mean well, it's important to know how to ride a motorcycle safely, so today we'll take a look at five critical motorcycle safety tips. 5 Most Important Motorcycle Safety Tips All Riders Need to Know According to the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, motorcyclists are 27 times more likely to die in traffic accidents than any other vehicle. Being a single rider going upwards of 75 miles per hour in the fresh air leaves you open to so many dangers. Not only that, you're potentially putting the lives of other drivers and passengers at risk. In fact, if you've experienced the loss of a loved one through a motorcycle accident and don't know what to do, learn more here. But if you're going to be proactive and learn some motorcycle driving tips, let's get into some of the most important ones now. 1. Always Wear the Proper Gear: Never ever go for a ride on your motorcycle without safety gear. Please know that buying this is very easy as you can buy motocross gear from an online store with a single click. This will help you stay safe in the event you get into an unfortunate accident. You've heard it since you were five years old and learning to ride a bike with training wheels, and maybe you're sick of hearing it, but ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET. Riding a motorcycle without a helmet can certainly feel nice, but it is by far the most protective piece of equipment you can (and should) be wearing. Other important gear includes: Face shield Eyewear (even prescription glasses or sunglasses counts for something) Padded jackets Padded gloves Padded pants Riding boots Heavy-duty riding boots are good for grip when using the clutch and keeping balance. The rest of the clothing protects you from the elements when you're out in the open and gives you that much more padding if you were to go flying. 2. Drive Carefully and Defensively: Motorcycles are fast compared to other vehicles. You're just a single person on a smaller, aerodynamic vehicle able to rip through traffic. Make sure to always obey all traffic rules, though, such as speed limits, yield signs, and more. It's especially important for you as a motorcyclist to drive defensively as it may be more difficult for people in larger, enclosed vehicles to see you. 3. Always Be Visible: Speaking of being seen, make sure to wear colors that make you stand out and to drive in a way that you're easily seen by other drivers. Avoid black and dark brown clothing and stick to brighter colors or use neon strips and tape. Avoid other driver's blindspots if you can. 4. Be Awake and Be Sober: This is true for anyone operating any kind of vehicle, but make sure you don't drive when you are tired or intoxicated. You may be focusing more on the sober aspect than the awake aspect, but it's crucial to only drive when you're fully awake and alert. Being sleepy can reduce your reaction time to obstacles and potential accidents. 5. Start Your Ride the Right Way: Every time you hop on your motorcycle, remember to follow procedures beforehand so that you can ride safely. In particular, do these every week: Check tire pressure Check for oil leaks Test your headlights, taillights, and signal lights Check all hydraulic and coolant fluid levels Also, do these every time you ride: Check that clutch and throttle are smooth and operational Adjust mirrors Test the firmness of your brakes Test that your horn works These are basic checks that shouldn't take you any time at all and could prevent massive amounts of damage, injury, and maybe even deaths. Seeking More Advice and Tips for Riding Safely Riding a motorcycle is thrilling, and if it's something you enjoy, you should certainly take advantage of the open road. But it's especially important to follow basic motorcycle safety tips since you are at much more risk than drivers in other vehicles. If you'd like to see more riding tips or more advice on vehicles in general, check out our other automotive blog posts! Read Also: Along For The Ride: Passenger Rights In-Vehicle Accidents How To Choose The Right Motorcycle Tires For The Motorcycle

Car Insurance For Electric Vehicles Explained

Cost and Providers: