The Expert Podcast

…Well we call this one a few months ago. You watch our previous video about insurance claims on electric vehicles. And here comes out where insurance companies are verifying that. Even small. Impacts or damages may total in electric vehicle.

The reason why is a vehicle battery is the most expensive part of a car. Right. So a minor impact, not only does it affect the body panels that are damaged you crash your car Your body panels will be crunched right? If you have a gasoline vehicle and you get a fender bender or even a meat reasonably severe accident, usually the motor the engine of a car a gasoline car doesn't get damaged unless the impact goes right through the front. Grill bumper and actually impacts the engine.

Usually there's no. Damage to the engine itself right The impact doesn't damage the engine unless it's struck…

However with a battery it's more of a sensitive electronic device. Think about your phone. right? If you drop your cell phone on the ground. Yeah the screen will smash but sometimes the battery itself and the whole phone.

Is damaged because of the impact…

And electric vehicle has some of the same vulnerability, a slightly damaged battery pack even if it's just through the vibration or the collision or the deceleration can short out some of the connections it can breach some of the cells inside that battery. Right where the chemicals or the, the rare earth metals that…in there now are damaged or ripped. Right. In some cases these vehicles aren't even.

That. destroyed on the outside but the battery may have been impacted The other problem with the electric vehicle is…in a gasoline vehicle. The engine is, is a component it's like a. It's a metal box that's inside. Under the hood, right?

It doesn't extend to the outside of the car. A battery is a flat…

Device that's under the entire floor of the car It extends all the way to the edge of the door. When you open your door right underneath the door jam is the battery on most electric vehicles. So if the impact pushes in even two or three inches on the side, it can damage the battery. On a gasoline vehicle. The damage has to be very severe to go in one or two feet sometimes more into the battery or into the engine bay.

In order for it to damage. And a gasoline engine In fact if the car is hit on the side, The engine itself is fine If it's hit in the back the engine is fine. It has to be hit directly in the front and it really has to push in those fenders pretty far to actually contact. The engine. Of a gasoline vehicle with a battery vehicle Oh man that battery spreads out and goes right to the edges of the vehicle So any kind of minor damage, even if you go over.

A speed bump Or if you go over an object that falls off a truck in the road. That could actually damage your battery. And this can create a total loss vehicle…

And it can do two things as a consumer First of all you have your deductible. Second of all you have a total loss meaning that. Sure they're going to pay you. The amount of the vehicle, but now you have to go buy a new one which is going to be more money. So he brought a new EV for a $50,000.

You drive it for a year and a half or two years. And…you get totaled. They're going to pay you actual cash value for that vehicle. It might be even if it's 40,000 probably less than that. Now you have to go buy a new vehicle.

Even if the new vehicles the same you got to come out of pocket 10 grand. A new one two years later it's probably going to be more money 55 60,000. So this is a very large financial risk. Where on a. Gasoline vehicle it's less likely your vehicles is going to be total unless it's a very hard wreck…

So this. Risk of loss is a lot greater on electric vehicles Put your comments below let us know what you think about this. Do you know somebody who's had electric vehicle has been damaged with minor collision?