Thatcham Research in the UK has launched a new blueprint to address the growing challenge of EV (electric vehicle) insurability and repair costs, aiming to prevent a growing number of EVs from being unnecessarily written off each year. The EV Blueprint establishes eight critical requirements for the automotive industry, designed to ensure BEVs (battery electric vehicles) can be safely assessed, efficiently repaired, and economically maintained throughout their lifecycle.

According to the risk-intelligence consultancy, the automotive industry has made significant progress over the past five years in understanding EVs and implementing essential safety measures in the case of collisions, but to achieve increased efficiency, some operational challenges remain. Its recent survey, conducted in partnership with the UK’s Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), reveals that battery-related issues remain the primary concern for 44.6% of insurers and 41.7% of repair professionals. With batteries accounting for up to 40% of a vehicle’s total value, even minor collision damage can result in total loss determinations, particularly as vehicles depreciate over time.

“The transition to electric vehicles represents one of the most significant transformations our industry has ever undertaken, but it cannot succeed if EVs become economically unviable to insure and repair,” said Jonathan Hewett, CEO of Thatcham Research. “We’re seeing too many repairable vehicles written off simply because current designs don’t accommodate efficient assessment and repair processes.”

Thatcham Research’s EV Blueprint presents a three-year-old EV that has sustained minor side impact damage to the HV battery bracket. Current mandated procedures frequently result in total loss because battery-casing damage requires a replacement with a new battery, which costs more than the car is worth. For a true circular economy, the battery casing would be repaired without pack removal or replaced with a significantly lower-cost refurbished unit, which would get the car back on the road.

The potential for EV batteries to have a long operational life has been underlined by a report by Generational, which has tested more than 8000 electric cars and light commercial vehicles. It found that 8-9-year-old vehicles retain a median 85% battery capacity, compared to new, while the median battery state of health for 4-5-year-old EVs was 93.53%.

“Our Electric Vehicle Blueprint is the result of carrying out real-world EV impact assessments and repair procedures, in-house for more than a decade,” said Hewett. “These are practical, evidence-based recommendations to overcome three-year-old EVs being written off unnecessarily because of minor battery-casing damage. This impacts consumer confidence and, fundamentally, undermines the sustainability credentials that make electrification so important in the first place.”

The framework addresses two fundamental challenges: post-collision diagnosis and assessment, as well as post-collision repair execution. By tackling these issues, it aims to reduce total loss rates, improve salvage and residual values, and ultimately influence insurance premium structures. The initiative calls on vehicle manufacturers, battery manufacturers, repairers, insurers, and training providers to adopt the recommendations, ensuring the electrification transition remains economically sustainable for both industry and consumers.

“How affordable it is to insure these cars largely relies on how well the industry can handle repairs after accidents,” said Dan Harrowell, Principal Engineer for Advanced Technologies at Thatcham Research. “As repair shops have become more experienced with electric vehicle technology, the costs of fixing these cars have already decreased by 10.7%.”

The recommendations outlined in the EV Blueprint are underpinned by three essential principles. The first is focused on safety, ensuring protection for everyone who interacts with EVs throughout the vehicle’s entire lifecycle, from collision through recovery, assessment, and repair. The second, on sustainability, looks at enabling a comprehensive circular economy for HV (high-voltage) batteries through repair, refurbishment, and remanufacture. The last, on affordability, looks at ensuring that HV components are accessible and reasonably priced, with total loss avoidance strategies that include new parts, warranted refurbished units, and remanufactured options.

The EV Blueprint outlines eight essential recommendations:

  1. Resettable emergency safety loop: Emergency safety systems must be designed to be resettable without permanent damage or extensive component replacement, similar to fuel cut-off switches in conventional vehicles.
  2. Safe and simplified battery handling: Battery removal and reinstatement processes must be straightforward, avoiding complex procedures or specialized subscription-based tools that create barriers to efficient repairs.
  3. Vehicle damage assessment guidelines: Clear, accessible methodologies for assessing battery damage after accidents must be available to all stakeholders, including independent repairers and insurers, to prevent unnecessary total loss determinations.
  4. Accessible diagnostics: High-voltage system diagnostics should be standardized and accessible through widely available equipment, comparable to current On-Board Diagnostics systems for conventional vehicles, rather than requiring expensive proprietary tools.
  5. Battery damage protection against impacts: Robust under-shields and protective designs are essential to safeguard batteries from underbody impacts and side collisions, with replaceable protective components available at reasonable costs.
  6. HV battery repair strategies: Established repair methods for battery casings and mounting brackets must allow completion without removing or disassembling entire battery packs, with pyrotechnic fuses designed for easy reset or replacement.
  7. Serviceability of HV batteries: Batteries must be designed for safe disassembly, using modular construction with removable fasteners rather than permanent adhesives, enabling refurbishment and remanufacturing within the UK.
  8. HV system component design: Critical components like charge ports should be positioned in less vulnerable locations and designed as standalone units to minimize repair complexity and costs.

“The eight recommendations we’ve outlined are entirely achievable,” concluded Hewett. “We already see these principles working in conventional vehicles—resettable safety systems, accessible diagnostics, serviceable components. There’s no technical reason why EVs can’t meet the same standards. What we need now is industry-wide commitment to designing vehicles that can be safely assessed, efficiently repaired, and economically maintained throughout their entire lifecycle.”