Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Electric Cars and Car Insurance



Electric cars are steadily rising in popularity and with the current issue of global warming there is good reason for the increase. Electric cars can often be fairly cheap to run. But are there any hidden costs that the average consumer isn’t aware of?

Electric cars run off electricity, as many would probably gather from the name. To do this, it uses a fairly large battery. The battery is similar to most other batteries. It is a store of electricity and can be used when required. It is also rechargeable.



One of the very useful things about this is that the car battery can be recharged from a standard mains plug. As a result it can be charged at home, or at work if there is a plug available. But other than that, there are very few places that allow the car to be charged.

This is emphasised by the distance an electric car can normally travel on one charge, usually less than fifty miles. So if the driver misjudges how far they need to go, it is more than possible that they can become stranded outside of their home or workplace. To counter this, the government is funding a plug-in system throughout the country, mainly in inner city areas, where any electric car driver can plug in on the side of the road and charge their car.

Another plan the government has put into action is giving out grants of up to five thousand pounds to people willing to buy electric cars. This could be a huge saving and could make cars, that would have seemed expensive before, affordable.



This is all in a bid to increase the number of people buying electric cars which is the largest out of all the current problems. Very few people buy electric cars which results in there being very few services offered to them. It is a rarity to find a mechanic who specialises in electric car repairs and few shops will sell spare parts.

This mean that people are often encouraged to find alternative ways of coping, or even possibly trying do it yourself repairs. Spare parts also tend to be ordered from the car manufacturer which can be expensive. Even when specialist services for electric cars are found, they are often expensive due to a lack of competition. Car insurance companies therefore have trouble insuring electric cars. To see if you can insure your electric car click here.

Some car insurance companies will offer a high insurance premium and many car insurance companies won’t offer any at all. This is due to inexperience and a lack of confidence in the market and cars. However, what can be more troubling is that the battery may not be covered and this is the most expensive part of the car! Despite this, there are now some car insurance companies that specialise in electric cars and with more and more people buying them, this issue will most likely dissipate as the market grows.

In the end, the insurance may be high now but it is very possible that it will decrease in the future. Put that together with government grants and the savings made on fuel, then it is clear that electric cars could easily be a cheaper option in the near future.



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