In this report, EVs tend to crash less than petrol cars, Marsh Re’s Amit Parmar, Managing Director, describes how the accident frequency rate for electric vehicles has been declining steadily since 2020, and is now 41% below the rate for petrol-fueled vehicles.
At the same time, severity is a more nuanced picture. Overall, EV accidents involve 32% more parties than petrol accidents and are twice as likely to involve a pedestrian. Instant electric torque, higher power-to-weight ratios, and quieter vehicles help explain why EV accidents can involve more parties. Single-vehicle and fixed-object collisions appear less common for EVs, while collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists appear more common.
However, more complex accidents involving heavier vehicles, fixed objects, or single vehicles are significantly less common with EVs than with petrol cars. The rise of EVs brings new risks, but it also creates an opportunity for insurers to adapt. The better the industry understands those differences, the better it can price, reserve, and manage the transition.