An analysis of hundreds of thousands of quotes transacted by Surex in the past 12 months shows that electric vehicles cost 36.8 per cent more to insure when compared to equivalent gas cars.
“Across Canada, electric vehicles were more expensive to insure,” the company writes in a statement about its research. “Electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs than gas vehicles, but that gets offset by a significantly higher insurance price,” adds Matt Dillon, executive vice president of national operations at Surex.
They say the average cost to insure a gas car annually in Canada in 2025 is $2,289.27. The average cost to insure the equivalent electric vehicle is $3,131.43.
Battery replacement cost
“One of the main reasons that electric vehicles have become more expensive to insure is due to a higher risk of a full write-off in an accident,” they add. “This tends to happen more with electric cars. In the event of even minor damage to the battery, an entirely new battery may be required. This is by far the largest cost of an electric vehicle.” The note, Electric vehicles in Canada cost 36.8% more to insure than gas cars, adds that the cost to replace an electric vehicle’s battery is sometimes equivalent to the cost of buying a new car.
Higher-value electric vehicles often come with steeper premiums, they continue.
Electric vehicles were found to be most expensive to insure in Alberta, with an average insurance cost of $3,342.93. New Brunswick drivers paid the least to insure electric vehicles, paying $2,769.36, on average. (Coverage for gas vehicles in those provinces cost $2,344.19 and $1,704.76, respectively.)
Gas cars were most expensive to insure in Ontario ($2,464.18) and least expensive to insure in Nova Scotia ($1,608.95). Electric vehicle coverage in Ontario cost $2,932.72 while the average cost came in at $3,009.30 in Nova Scotia.
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