One man's EV coverage rose from $1,180 to $1,690 in four years — a roughly 43% increase. The hidden reasons premiums could be getting more expensive may have nothing to do with the battery

What was a shocking discovery for one electric vehicle owner was not the car getting old too fast, but the increase in their insurance expenses.

According to the owner, their annual insurance rate rose from approximately $1,180 in 2021 to nearly $1,690 in 2025, which is about a 43% rise over four years.

With the car becoming older, the owner started thinking whether the increase in expenses was due to the car's battery being old. As the battery is one of the most expensive components of an electric car, this thought was justified.


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However, a discussion on Reddit was a little bit different.

Several electric vehicle owners claimed that the rise in premiums could be connected to the general increase in automobile insurance rates rather than battery deterioration. The owner of the first car also added that there was a tiny fender bender in 2024, but it was not the owner's fault and did not result in any claims.

A 43% increase does not automatically point to the battery

The driver's five-year premium history prompted the original question, but commenters largely rejected the idea that battery age alone was responsible.

Several participants in the r/electricvehicles discussion said insurance premiums have been increasing for vehicles generally, including gasoline-powered cars. In that view, an EV owner's rising renewal price may be part of a wider insurance market trend rather than an EV-specific battery penalty.

One commenter pointed out that auto insurance does not normally function as a fund for replacing a battery simply because it has become old. Another argued that insurers are not setting rates based on battery age in the way the original poster suspected.

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The discussion is, however, anecdotal rather than evidence of how every insurer calculates EV premiums.

Insurance pricing differs by company and can depend on a long list of variables, including where the vehicle is driven and stored, the driver's record, the vehicle itself, claims history and the insurer's broader pricing decisions.

That means a rising renewal cannot, by itself, establish that battery degradation has increased the cost of coverage.

The 2021-to-2025 increase is still significant for the driver, however. A premium rising from $1,180 to $1,690 means an additional $510 a year compared with the earlier rate.

EV repairs can be expensive without making battery age the culprit

The conversation does highlight a genuine issue surrounding electric vehicles: repair costs can vary considerably between models, and the price of repairing a damaged EV is not determined solely by how old its battery is.

An electric car contains expensive components beyond its battery pack. Depending on the vehicle and the type of accident, repairs can involve sensors, cameras, electronics, body panels, charging hardware and other specialised systems.

The availability of replacement parts and qualified repair facilities can also affect the cost and time involved in getting a damaged vehicle back on the road.

Those factors can matter to insurers because claims costs are part of the broader economics behind premiums. But that is different from saying an insurer has simply increased a driver's rate because the battery has aged.

One Reddit commenter suggested that the vehicle's repairability and resale value could matter more than its status as an EV.

That distinction provides a more useful way to look at the issue. Two electric vehicles of the same age could have very different insurance costs if their repair histories, parts availability, technology, market values or claims experience differ.

The same applies to gasoline-powered vehicles. Their insurance premiums can rise or fall even as the vehicles depreciate.

The car can lose value while insurance gets more expensive

At first glance, rising insurance costs can seem contradictory.

A vehicle generally loses value as it gets older, so a driver might reasonably expect insurance to become cheaper. Yet the price paid for coverage does not simply track the vehicle's resale value.

One participant in the Reddit discussion made this observation, essentially noting the irony of paying more for insurance while the underlying car becomes less valuable.

The reason is that an insurer is not pricing only the amount it would pay if the vehicle were completely written off. Coverage can also involve liability, collision repairs, medical costs and other expenses associated with accidents.

The cost of those claims can change independently of a particular vehicle's depreciation.

The Reddit discussion also offered an example of how different vehicles on the same policy can behave differently. One commenter said they had seen an EV's premium increase while another EV and two gasoline-powered cars on the policy moved in the opposite direction.

That experience illustrates why a renewal increase does not necessarily reveal a single cause.

For an individual driver, the useful question is therefore not simply whether the car is an EV or whether its battery is getting older. It is what changed in the insurer's pricing for that particular vehicle and policy.

Shopping around may reveal what is actually driving the increase

For drivers facing a sharply higher renewal, comparing insurance quotes can provide more information than trying to infer the cause from the vehicle's age.

A renewal notice can be reviewed alongside the previous policy to identify changes in coverage, deductibles, discounts and other policy details. Drivers can also ask their insurer why the premium changed and whether any rating factors were updated.

Getting quotes from other insurers can then show whether the increase is specific to one company or appears across several providers.

That distinction can be useful. If competing insurers offer substantially different prices for comparable coverage, the original renewal may reflect that company's pricing rather than an unavoidable cost associated with owning an ageing EV.

The broader Reddit discussion does not establish a universal explanation for rising electric vehicle insurance premiums. It does, however, challenge the assumption that battery age is automatically the main culprit.

EV batteries can be costly components, and battery condition remains relevant to an electric vehicle's overall ownership and resale value. But an insurance premium is shaped by a much wider set of considerations.

For the driver whose annual bill climbed from roughly $1,180 to $1,690, the increase is real. What remains uncertain is exactly which factors caused it.

FAQ

1. Can an ageing EV battery increase car insurance premiums?
Battery age alone does not necessarily determine an auto insurance premium. Insurance pricing can depend on the vehicle, driver, location, claims history, coverage and the insurer's own rating factors.

2. Why can EV insurance be expensive?
Potential factors include repair costs, replacement parts, vehicle technology, claims experience and insurer pricing. These factors can vary significantly between EV models and insurance companies.

3. Does a vehicle becoming older automatically make insurance cheaper?
Not necessarily. Although an older vehicle may have a lower market value, insurance premiums also reflect the potential cost of claims and other factors that can change over time.

4. What should an EV owner do after a large insurance increase?
Check the renewal against the previous policy, ask the insurer what changed, review coverage and discounts, and compare quotes from other insurers for equivalent coverage.