Are electric cars cheaper to insure compared to petrol cars in Singapore?

Electric cars are up and coming in Singapore. With the government announcing plans to stop the sale of internal combustion engine powered cars by 2040, along with better incentives over the years, we will slowly see more Electric Vehicles (EVs) plying our roads.

From the get go, EV maintenance is cheaper and easier compared to petrol cars. With lesser moving parts thanks to the lack of an internal combustion engine, the main wear and tear components are generally limited to only your tyres and brakes.

The equivalent range offered per charge is significantly cheaper than a petrol car's tank of fuel. It might sound inconvenient and requires a little change in routine, but there are savings to be had.

But there is another element of upkeep that needs to be considered - car insurance, and the yearly renewals that follow.

So, just how much difference is there when it comes to insuring an electric car? Is there a cost difference between an EV versus a petrol car when it comes to car insurance? We find out.

Are EVs more expensive to insure? Why?

There are logical reasons as to why insurance for electric cars can cost more.

First is the outright cost of the car. EVs generally cost more to manufacture, and in Singapore, also cost more than their equivalent petrol models and segment peers.

A general rule of thumb is if the value of the car is more, it can get more expensive to insure. This applies also to petrol cars.

While wear and tear components are lesser, the cost to replace certain parts of the vehicle should be considered, especially in an accident.

Electric components such as the battery and motor require special tooling and training. While you might not damage such components in an accident, even bumpers and body panels may sport design differences compared to its petrol-driven variants. These items may not be commonly stocked, and require to be shipped in.

All these things are taken into account. But there are other factors when it comes to car insurance. Things such as your profile, driving experience and No-Claims Discount (NCD) also matter.

Finding an equivalent car

While there are many manufacturers looking towards introducing electric vehicles to our market, they usually are models based on their own. Meaning which, you rarely see a car that has both a petrol or electric option available. BMW and MINI on the other hand each have models with variants with different powerplants.

The BMW X3, for example, has the X3 Plug-in Hybrid, and the fully-electric iX3, coming later this year. The MINI Electric on the other hand is based off the MINI 3-Door, and you can have a variety of engine options - the 1.5-litre turbocharged MINI Cooper as well as the hotter MINI Cooper S - which closely resembles the MINI Electric in terms of verve and power output.

To put things into perspective, we pulled out insurance quotes for the MINI Electric, MINI Cooper, and MINI Cooper S from Etiqa's online car insurance website. Not many insurers offer an online platform to check out the premiums of an EV, and also have their equivalent petrol models too. All these quotes are based off a single profile:

A 30-year old married male, with 11 years of driving experience, 50 per cent NCD, and an excess of $1,000.