An EV will likely not exceed five digits on the odometer because the cost to replace the battery in the typical 10-year span of a battery life will exceed the vehicle’s resale value, therefore making it economically impractical.

Other authors have all cited valid facts about the impracticality of charging these things on long trips, the stress they will add to a fragile electric grid, the lack of enthusiasm in this country for adding additional reliable energy power plants, etc. None of this has made me want to rush right out and buy an EV, but just for the sake of developing a more complete picture, let’s peel another layer off the onion.

It should come as no surprise that insurance costs are also higher, not only because of their higher sticker price but because of the cost of specialty parts (including batteries), the lack of a specially-trained workforce to fix them, and the possibility that even a younger vehicle may be totaled if there was a damaged battery simply because of the cost of the battery.

Progressive Insurance sums it up nicely:

“Insurance costs for EVs and hybrid cars can be higher than for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles largely because they can be more expensive to repair and replace. For example, a new EV battery ranges between $4,000 and $20,000 depending on the make and model of your EV, compared to $100-200 for an ICE car battery. If the battery of an EV is damaged in an accident, that's a significantly more expensive replacement cost.

On top of more expensive parts, there also aren't as many repair shops with technicians trained to fix electric vehicles versus traditional vehicles. That means those qualified facilities may charge more for repairs because of the specialized training required.”

But wait! There’s more!

I serve on my township’s Board of Advisors, with responsibility for maintaining a top-notch fire department. We keep a lot of different supplies and chemicals on hand that they may need to address in various residential and commercial situations. I asked our fire chief recently how they would handle an EV fire. His answer, because of the unique danger a battery fire poses, since there’s not enough water to extinguish it, and the lack of any recommended protocol from the US Fire Administration or any other resource, is to “try to isolate it and let it burn out.”

While much of the press is devoted to claiming that EV fires are rare, I have found no credible statistics that prove they are less rare than comparable ICE vehicle fires. By “comparable,” I’m referring to age-corrected vehicle statistics to modern EVs, not overall statistics for vehicles of all ages which is not a fair comparison. We all know that grandpa’s 1976 Cadillac with its carbureted engine and rotting rubber fuel hoses will far more likely catch fire than a 2021 fuel-injected Tacoma with stainless steel fuel lines. That being said, regardless of credible, comparable statistics of fire risk there is no argument that the consequence of an EV fire is far more severe because of the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of extinguishing it unlike an ICE vehicle fire and the length of time it will burn.

I asked our fire chief next what would happen if the vehicle were parked in a residential garage. He said they would try to extract it so it could burn out safely, but considering the danger involved to the crew, they would more likely just let it burn and do their best to save the rest of the structure, but the amount of water it would take to keep the rest of the structure from burning would most likely destroy the structure anyway.

I brought this problem to the attention of my State Farm Insurance agent. After a few weeks, I received this: “Good morning, Pete. I want to give you an update on your inquiry about EVs affecting homeowner insurance rates. I first asked our district manager if he had any knowledge on the subject and he said no but would move your inquiry up to our underwriting department. We just found out yesterday that they were stumped as well and have moved it up to our Homeowners Product Lines Team at the Corporate headquarters in Bloomington. I'll keep you posted on the results. Have a great day!”

Consider also that in the rural USA, EVs are rare because they are impractical simply because of their limited range and the availability of charging stations. Metro areas are the ones most populated with EVs, yet cities are the ones with underground parking garages in apartment buildings where a prolonged and unextinguishable EV fire would be devastating to the structure above, not to mention the danger to its occupants. Sure, my home lasted about 50 years wired completely in single-strand aluminum that carried a much higher statistical probability of fire until I bought it and changed it to all copper. But it took 10 years of other homes burning down from single-strand 12 and 14 gauge aluminum wiring, and the statistics to back that up, to figure that out.

We are simply way too early in the game to understand all the consequences of EVs. More is revealed every day and consumers are wising up. Reliable statistics haven’t been developed and even giants like State Farm are shrugging their shoulders over a simple question.

Image: SpreeTom