Insurance premium on EVs to be maintained at current rate
Insurance companies have agreed to keep insurance premium for electric vehicles at the current level even though the payout for EV repairs and maintenance tends to be higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles.
The meeting between the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), the Electric Vehicles Association of Thailand (EVAT), the Thai Insurance Brokers Association (TIBA) and manufacturers of EVs agreed to maintain the status quo on EV insurance premium, the OIC secretary-general, Suttipol Taweechaikarn, said on Tuesday.
The move aims to continue promoting the adoption rate of EVs in Thailand in a bid to move the country closer to the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Suttipol said over 36,000 electric vehicles have been registered in Thailand last year, making it one of the fastest expanding categories among all modes of transport. To further promote this trend, the OIC aims to minimise obstacles for those who want to switch from fossil fuel vehicles to EVs.
“Currently insurance premiums for EVs are already about 20-30% higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles,” he said. “This is because the repair and maintenance of EVs require diagnostics by skilled technicians, and any repair/replacement of battery must be thoroughly analysed by technicians of the manufacturers.”
Suttipol said the OIC and the EVAT would also set up a task force to exchange technical and statistical data regarding EV repairs, especially the expense on battery repair/replacement. The aim is to prevent any incident where all battery repairs end up with the replacement of the entire battery module, which would significantly drive up the insurance claim.
EVAT president Krisda Utamote added that the data collected by the task force would also be useful for planning the insurance premium for EVs in the future to reflect the real cost of repair/replacement, resulting in a rate that is fair to EV users.
