Are electric cars riskier? Comparison of driving behavior and insurance claims for internal combustion engine, hybrid and electric vehicles.
Electric vehicle (EV) drivers are more likely to be involved in at-fault road accidents than those driving petrol or diesel vehicles, according to a study conducted by the Irish Software Research Foundation at the University of Limerick and Leroy of the University of Barcelona. .

While analyzing insurance claims and in-car sensor data to be published in the November issue of the magazine Accident Analysis and PreventionLero researchers reveal a number of important findings:

• Electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle drivers exhibit different behaviors than conventional vehicle drivers.
• Electric vehicles have more claims for malfunctions than conventional vehicles.
• Electric cars are 6.7% more expensive to repair than conventional cars.

The authors of the study are Leroy’s Kevin McDonnell, Dr Barry Sheehan, Professor Finbarr Murphy of the University of Limerick and Professor Montserrat Guillen of the University of Barcelona.

Electric vehicle drivers face higher risk of tort claims

Leroyce researcher and co-director of the Center for New Risk Research at Cammy Business School, Dr. Barry Sheehan said electric vehicle drivers have a higher chance of defense than drivers of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

“Our study found that despite having a lower average mileage than internal combustion engines, EV drivers’ reduced impact on the road does not reduce their risk of making at-fault insurance claims. When we analyzed at-fault claims, we found 4% more accidents in electric vehicles compared to internal combustion engines, and 4% in hybrids.” (HYBs) we saw an increase of 6%.

“However, when tested using statistical models, hybrids do not present any additional concerns regarding the increased risk of malpractice claims. These results suggest that EVs have a higher risk profile than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles.”

“Our research shows that driver behavior changes significantly when switching to hybrid or electric vehicles. These results mean that EVs are more likely to face defect claims than internal combustion engines,” added Dr. Sheehan.

Electric Vehicles and Hybrids: Unexpected Mileage and Risk Findings

Lero researcher and lead author Kevin McDonnell said their analysis of each fuel type showed that EVs and hybrids have lower average mileage than internal combustion engines.

“This suggests that internal combustion engines should be more likely to make malpractice claims than alternative fuel vehicles. However, claims data contradicts this assumption and provides evidence of an increase in EV malpractice claims through predictive modeling and risk analysis,” he added.

Professor Lero Finbarr Murphy, executive dean of the university’s Cammy Business School and co-author, said alternative energy vehicles were riskier and more risky, given their lower mileage, significant first-party damage and battery costs, and the increased likelihood of erroneous insurance claims. A higher financial burden compared to gasoline and diesel cars.

The study used telematics data from 125 million commercial vehicle fleet trips involving 14,642 vehicles registered in the Netherlands between January 2022 and October 2022. A data set of insurance claims from the same period was also used.