Insurance in EV vs gas total cost of ownership: a worked example

Insurance belongs in an EV-versus-gas comparison as a line of its own, priced from real quotes on the two exact cars you are weighing. In many cases it costs more on the electric car, and the extra amount can be a few hundred dollars a year, which is enough to eat a good share of what you save on fuel. Whether it decides the comparison depends on your state, your mileage, how much of your charging happens at home, and how closely the two cars match.

Why the premium gap exists

Insurers price a car from its rating factors, and the car itself shows up as a vehicle symbol built from past claims on that model. Four things push an EV's symbol up or down.

Repair cost. Electric cars often use aluminum or large single-piece castings, specialized sensors, and high-voltage components that only trained technicians may touch. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) lists higher vehicle values, specialized repair needs, fewer qualified repair facilities, battery repair or replacement costs and still-developing parts supply as reasons an EV may cost more to insure; the NAIC's electric vehicle insurance page lays out the same list and says premiums vary by model, driver, coverage, state and insurer. Our guide to why car repairs cost more covers the general mechanics, and why electric cars get totaled after crashes a gas car would survive explains how battery risk changes repair-or-total decisions.

Vehicle value. Insurance pays to repair or replace the car, so a higher purchase price raises the cost of every collision coverage and comprehensive coverage claim. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that the electric models in its December 2020 study had a base price 62 percent higher than their gasoline counterparts.

Battery and repair-network risk. A damaged pack may be assessed, quarantined or replaced, and the nearest shop certified to do it may be far away. See Certified EV collision repair networks: what the certification means for how those networks work.

The injury-claims profile. This is where EVs help. In the same HLDI bulletin, the electric models showed lower claim frequency under bodily injury liability, personal injury protection and medical payments coverage. Those savings partly offset the physical-damage costs, but they do not always cancel them.

What the loss data actually says

The cleanest insurer-neutral evidence is the HLDI bulletin "Insurance losses of electric vehicles and their conventional counterparts while adjusting for mileage" (Vol. 37, No. 25, December 2020). It compared nine electric models with gasoline versions of the same platform and nameplate, model years 2012 to 2020. Controlling for miles driven:

• Collision claim frequency was 20 percent lower for the electric models.
• Collision claim severity (the average cost of a claim) was 1 percent higher, a difference HLDI called not statistically significant.
• Property damage liability frequency was 17 percent lower and severity 3 percent higher.
• Overall collision losses were 19 percent lower.

Two limits matter. First, the study excluded Tesla, because Tesla has no gasoline counterpart; HLDI noted that earlier analyses showed Tesla losses above those of other large gasoline luxury cars. Second, the electric models were driven 39 percent fewer miles per day than their counterparts, and the sample was mostly compact models from that era. The findings describe the cars studied, not every EV on sale today.

Premiums, though, are set by each insurer's own experience and filed rates, not by one industry study. That is why quote data is the right tool for your decision, and the loss data is the right tool for understanding why quotes differ.

What quote studies show, and their limits

Insurify analyzed more than 235 million rates from partner insurers and reported in 2026 (page last updated June 2026) that the average full-coverage premium was $3,159 a year for EVs and $2,218 for gasoline vehicles, a 42 percent gap. For vehicles from model years 2024 to 2026, the gap narrowed to 18 percent. The Insurify electric vehicle report also shows the gap varying sharply by state: for newer models it listed 54 percent in Massachusetts, 45 percent in New York and 36 percent in New Jersey, but about 2 percent in Ohio and slightly negative in West Virginia, Montana and Nebraska.

Read these figures with three cautions.

1. Averages mix very different cars. An all-model-years average compares a ten-year-old gasoline sedan with a new luxury EV. The like-for-like newer-model gap is the more useful number, and even that mixes body styles.
2. Drivers and coverage are standardized. Insurify's figures use a clean record, average or better credit, $1,000 collision and comprehensive deductibles and a range of liability limits. Your profile will differ.
3. Quote sites are a snapshot. Rates move by the month. A figure from one report is a starting estimate, which is why you should date any quote you save.

Your own quotes, on your own two cars, beat any of these averages. Our car insurance quote comparison worksheet helps you line them up.

Step 1: Pair the cars like for like

A fair comparison needs two cars that differ mainly in how they are powered. Follow these steps.

1. Match the body style and size. Compare an electric crossover with a gasoline crossover, not with a sedan. Body style changes theft rates, injury rates and repair costs.
2. Match the price band. A $55,000 EV against a $32,000 gasoline car measures price, not powertrain. If the cars differ greatly in price, add a mid-priced gasoline option or a hybrid so you can see how much of the gap is value rather than technology. Our insuring a hybrid car guide covers that middle case.
3. Match the trim and equipment. Driver-assistance packages, panoramic glass and larger wheels raise repair costs. Pick comparable trim levels.
4. Use the exact model year. Insurers rate by model year. A 2024 and a 2026 version of the same car can price differently.
5. Keep the driver profile identical. Use the same drivers, ZIP code, annual mileage, garaging address and prior-insurance history for every quote.

Step 2: Get a clean quote comparison

The mistake that ruins most comparisons is changing something besides the car. Hold these constant:

• Liability limits (for example, 100/300/100 on both quotes).
• Collision and comprehensive deductibles. A $500 deductible on one quote and $1,000 on the other can swamp the real difference.
• Optional coverages. If one quote includes rental reimbursement, roadside assistance or an original-equipment-parts endorsement and the other does not, the totals are not comparable.
• Discounts and billing. Enter the same multi-policy status, pay-in-full choice and paperless settings. If a telematics program is offered, compare either with it or without it on both.
• The VIN, if you can. Many tools can pull equipment and safety features from the vehicle identification number. A trim-level guess can understate a sensor package.

Ask at least three insurers, because a company that rates an EV badly may rate a particular gasoline car well, and the reverse. Some insurers decline or surcharge certain models, so a missing quote is information too. Our guide to comparing quotes apples to apples walks through the full process, and check insurance costs before you buy a car explains why to quote the exact car before you sign the purchase contract.

Step 3: Get the fuel side honest

The fuel half of the comparison is where people tend to be too generous to the EV. Four variables drive it.

Electricity price. AAA's 2025 Your Driving Costs study assumed a national average of 16.7 cents per kilowatt-hour for home charging, and its 2026 release put home charging at 18.0 cents. Your own utility bill, not the national figure, is the number to use.

Home versus public charging. Public fast charging typically costs well above home electricity. Someone who cannot charge at home pays something much closer to a gasoline price per mile. Time-of-use rates, if your utility offers them, can push a night-charging cost lower still.

Mileage. Fuel savings scale with miles driven. A driver at 8,000 miles a year saves roughly half what a 16,000-mile driver does, while the insurance gap stays almost unchanged. If you drive little, consider pay-per-mile insurance on the gasoline side too.

Gasoline price. AAA's 2025 figure was an average of $3.151 a gallon for regular; its 2026 release put it at $4.152, up 31.8 percent. Gas prices swing, so test a high and a low case.

AAA's September 2026 release also found that EV charging costs ran about 66 to 70 percent below gasoline costs across the categories it studied, but that the savings were often outweighed by higher depreciation, fees and finance costs. In its example, an electric medium sedan cost 29.1 percent more to own per year than a comparable gasoline sedan. Insurance is one component among several, and usually not the biggest.

Worked example: where the savings go

The numbers below are hypothetical, chosen to show the method. They are not market data. Say you are choosing between two similar crossovers and plan to drive 15,000 miles a year.

Over five years, the EV comes out about $1,610 ahead on these four lines. Look at how much each line moved. The $600 insurance gap and the $200 fee together take back nearly all of the $822 fuel saving once you leave out maintenance. This table leaves out the purchase price, depreciation, financing and incentives, which are bigger numbers. It answers one question only: how much of the running-cost advantage does insurance consume?

The state fee in that table is real in many places. The ARTBA's April 2026 table of state electric vehicle fees shows annual EV charges that range from about $50 to well over $200 in states that levy them, so look up your own state's fee rather than using mine.

Sensitivity: when the insurance gap matters

The table repeats the example with the insurance gap and home-charging share changed. Each cell is the EV's net yearly advantage on the four lines above (fuel, a $300 maintenance saving, and a $200 fee, less the insurance gap). A negative number means the gasoline car is cheaper to run.

Read it as a map. A driver with a garage charger sits in the left column and stays ahead of the gasoline car until the insurance gap reaches about $1,200. A driver who charges half the time in public needs the insurance gap below about $560 to break even on running costs. The same gap that is a footnote in one column is the whole story in another.

Credits, incentives and timing

Two different things get called "credits" in this comparison, and both deserve a line.

Tax credits. The federal new clean vehicle credit (section 30D) and the previously owned clean vehicle credit (section 25E) ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, under the 2025 budget law. The IRS FAQ says a vehicle counts as acquired when a written binding contract exists and a payment has been made, so a purchase with a contract and a payment by that date could still qualify when the vehicle was delivered later. As of November 2026, anyone pricing an EV with no binding contract from before that date should assume no federal credit. State and utility incentives differ and change, so check your state energy office and utility before counting them.

Credit-based insurance scores. Separately, most states let insurers use a credit-based insurance score in rating. A major financing change, such as a new auto loan, can move your credit profile, and a lower score can lift the premium on either car. The effect is the same for both cars, so it does not change the gap, but it changes the size of both totals. A few states restrict or ban the practice; check your state before assuming it applies.

Timing matters for one more reason: EV rates are still moving. Insurify reported that newer EV rates fell 11.1 percent over the year covered by its 2026 report while newer gasoline-car rates fell 7.7 percent. That is a one-year snapshot, not a forecast, but it is a reason to quote again at renewal rather than assume today's gap will last.

Adjusting for deductibles, limits and trim

Three coverage choices change the comparison without changing the car.

Deductible. A higher deductible lowers the premium but raises what you pay after a claim. Because repair bills on a pricier or more complex car can run larger, the same deductible covers a smaller share of the bill, and a bad claim costs you the full deductible either way. Check that you could pay it from savings rather than choosing by premium alone.

Liability limits. Liability coverage depends more on the driver, the state and the limits chosen than on the car's price, so it tends to move less between a gasoline model and its EV twin than collision and comprehensive do. If one quote carries higher limits, part of the gap may be coverage, not powertrain.

Trim and equipment. A base EV and a fully equipped EV can differ by hundreds of dollars a year. Check that the quote lists the equipment you actually plan to buy.

Common questions

Does an EV always cost more to insure than a gas car?

No. Insurify's 2026 data shows a large average gap nationally but roughly no gap for newer models in some states, such as Ohio. Individual models matter too: in Insurify's table, some electric luxury sedans priced below the gasoline luxury sedan they were paired with. Quote your own two cars.

Why do my quotes jump when I choose a specific EV trim?

Trim changes the vehicle symbol and the repair cost. Sensor packages, glass and wheels raise the expected claim size. Confirm that the quote matches your VIN or build sheet.

Will insurance on a used EV cost less?

Often the premium falls with the car's value, but battery age adds uncertainty, because a replacement pack on an older EV can cost more than the car is worth. Our guide to EV battery damage and insurance claims explains what happens when battery damage outweighs value.

How should I treat a lease?

A lease changes the math because the lessor usually requires specific coverage and may require gap protection. See Leasing an EV: gap coverage and what happens if it is totaled before you compare a lease with a purchase.

Key takeaways

• Put insurance into the comparison using real quotes on matching trims, with identical limits, deductibles, drivers and ZIP code.
• Insurify's 2026 quote data shows a 42 percent average EV premium gap, narrowing to 18 percent for 2024 to 2026 models, with wide state variation; HLDI's loss data shows lower EV claim frequency but costs that depend on the model.
• Fuel savings depend on home charging, mileage and electricity price, so test several cases, as the sensitivity table does.
• The federal EV tax credits ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025; state fees and incentives still vary.
• Requote at renewal, since new-model EV rates are still moving.