Insurance data on electric vehicles is still too thin for insurers to price it with confidence, and that gap, more than any single factor, is why EVs often cost more to insure than comparable gas-powered cars, according to Matt Hands, vice president of insurance at Ratehub.ca.

Ratehub's own analysis found that EV or hybrid insurance premiums were higher than their gas-powered counterparts in eight of 10 vehicle comparisons, with the Hyundai Kona EV costing roughly 49% more to insure than its gas equivalent and the Toyota RAV4 hybrid costing 26% more. Not every model followed that pattern: the Honda Civic Hybrid and Kia Sportage Hybrid were both less expensive to insure than their gas versions.

Hands said that inconsistency reflects how little historical data insurers have to work with compared to gas vehicles, which pushes some insurers toward more conservative pricing.

"The data accumulation is still light compared to gas-powered vehicles," Hands said. "So the insurance companies sometimes take a conservative approach. Their models are getting smarter, and you can start to see that some EVs cost a lot more to insure than others."

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Part of that variability comes down to the mechanics of the vehicles themselves, Hands said. EVs rely on a large number of interconnected, high-tech components, and battery damage in particular tends to be costly to repair and can push insurers toward writing a vehicle off entirely.

"If something breaks, it can be very costly to repair, especially if it's the battery," Hands said. "The batteries can be easily damaged. If you get a damaged battery, that's a significant cost, and sometimes they're just writing vehicles off."

Repair infrastructure adds another layer to the cost, he said, since Canada's EV service network is still developing.

"Not every tech can repair it," Hands said. "The parts can be more expensive to import, and I think that also leads to the repairs being more expensive. It's just a compounding effect of multiple things."

Even with that data gap, Hands said the underlying pricing logic isn't fully visible from the outside, since insurers don't disclose how heavily they weigh any single factor.

"Some of it is a little bit black box, unfortunately," Hands said. "We know what the high-level factors are, but we don't know what the individual weighting is in terms of the decision making. We can make educated guesses based on what we're seeing."

One pattern he has observed is that price gaps tend to widen as vehicles move upmarket. Luxury EVs carry higher repair costs on top of the added cost of the vehicle itself, while less expensive, less complex models tend to show smaller premium differences between EV and gas versions.

"You're dealing with a more costly vehicle plus the electronic technology and potentially theft threats," Hands said. "Those things will just compound."

That theft exposure extends beyond the vehicles themselves. Copper prices have climbed to record levels this year, and utilities including B.C. Hydro and Hydro-Québec have reported a rising wave of thefts targeting the copper wiring inside EV charging cables. B.C. Hydro alone has logged roughly 130 stolen cables since October, at a replacement cost of about $1 million.

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With gas prices elevated nationally and the federal EV rebate back in place, Hands said fuel savings alone shouldn't drive a buying decision, since insurance costs can offset much or all of that benefit depending on how a vehicle is used.

"If you're somebody who's barely driving and your insurance is $1,000 or more, you might not save enough on gas to really notice the difference," Hands said. "But if you're driving often, you might see over a thousand, maybe even $2,000 in savings, and that might overcome your cost of insurance."

Beyond the math, Hands said convenience is a cost that rarely makes it into anyone's spreadsheet. Gas vehicles offer a level of flexibility Canada's charging network can't yet match, since drivers can refuel anywhere in minutes, while an EV road trip has to be planned around where charging stations exist and how long a charge takes.

"You have to plan ahead," Hands said. "A gas-powered vehicle right now in Canada, you can do a road trip at any point. There'll be a gas station anywhere. When you got to fill up, it takes a few minutes. You don't have to sit at a charging station for half an hour or anything like that."

Charging at home carries its own overlooked cost, Hands said. Depending on a property's existing electrical setup, switching to an EV can require installing a dedicated charging line, since standard household voltage isn't always sufficient to support it. It's the kind of expense that rarely surfaces during test drives but can add meaningfully to the upfront cost of ownership.

For anyone actually shopping, Hands said the process should start well before test drives or financing conversations. Buyers should first settle on a realistic budget and vehicle type, then check theft and safety ratings for any EV under consideration, since both factor directly into insurance pricing. From there, he said, getting an actual insurance quote before finalizing a purchase, rather than after, is the step most people skip and later regret.

"Getting insurance quotes before purchasing can help avoid unexpected costs," Hands said, "and may even influence which model offers the best overall value."