Does insurance cover an EV battery replacement?

Insurance policies vary, but high voltage EV batteries are under warranty for at least 8 years or 100,000 miles.

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You’ll have to check your auto insurance policy to find out whether it will cover EV battery replacement. This may also depend on why and how the battery gets damaged. Because they are difficult to repair and there is no easy way to confirm a battery is safe to use, many insurers would rather total an EV than attempt to replace a battery that may have been damaged.

However, if your battery fails while under warranty the cost of replacement will be completely covered by the manufacturer. Electric vehicle warranties are just like gas car warranties. The biggest difference is the battery. While some manufacturers only warrant against a total failure, it’s more common to warrant against both failure and degradation. The EV battery must drop below a certain percentage of its original capacity to qualify for replacement, generally between 65% to 75%.

It’s important to remember only 2.5% of all EV batteries have ever been replaced. If you need to pay for a battery replacement out of pocket, it will cost between $6,500 to $20,000 dollars. Battery packs are the most expensive part of an EV, which is why replacement costs can be so high.

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Dive Deeper:

• Electric Vehicle Warranties: What’s new?
• Electric Car Battery Replacement Costs
• Does EV Insurance Cost More?