Electric vehicle service contracts. The battery is the whole question.
Every EV customer asks if the battery is covered. On the contracts we place, there are four different answers, three rules for when lost range counts as a failure, and a list of charging exclusions nobody mentions at delivery. This page lays them out, read from the contracts themselves.
Does an EV service contract cover the battery? Sometimes. The high-voltage battery is either a listed covered part, a paid option, left to the factory warranty under a wrap, or the vehicle is not eligible at all. Which one you sold is on the declaration page.
Four ways a contract treats the battery.
The words “EV coverage” on a brochure tell you none of this. Pick each one to see what the contract says and what to watch for.
The battery is a named covered part.
On these programs the drive battery pack sits in the coverage schedule for every electric and hybrid vehicle, with no option to add. Two conditions still travel with it: replacement follows the manufacturer’s allowable capacity guideline, and no other battery is covered, including the 12-volt.
Watch for: Included is not unconditional. Read the capacity rule before you promise anything about range.
When does lost range become a claim?
A battery that still works but holds less charge is the complaint EV owners actually bring back. Whether it is a covered failure depends on one sentence in the contract, and the forms we hold write that sentence three ways.
Drag the battery down and watch each rule answer. The one rule all of them share: a battery allowed to run completely flat is excluded, whatever the cause.
Some forms define a battery failure as no longer holding 70% of its original storage capacity, or the manufacturer’s figure where that is lower.
At 78%, the battery still meets the 70% definition. Range loss alone is not a claim.
Other forms say repair or replacement follows the manufacturer’s allowable capacity guidelines, without printing a number.
At 78%, it depends on what that manufacturer allows for that model. Ask for the figure before you quote one.
Some contracts cover battery failure and say nothing about capacity at all.
At 78%, the battery still works. With no capacity definition, gradual loss is the hardest claim to win. Do not promise it.
What an EV contract covers, and what it never will.
An electric schedule is not a gas contract with the engine crossed out. It names a different set of parts, drops whole groups, and adds exclusions a gas customer never hears.
- Traction motor, stator and rotor
- Inverter and converters
- Drive motor control
- Battery control module and current sensor
- Battery service switch
Electric schedules name these parts. A gas contract’s engine and transmission language was not written for them, which is why a standard contract on an EV leaves gaps.
Check the EV contract you sell today.
Eight questions about your program and your desk. You get the gaps in plain English, and an agent can read the actual form with you.
How is the high-voltage battery written into the EV contract you sell?
Tesla, hybrids and the tow truck.
Tesla
Rated by class on some programs and ineligible on others. Claims also run differently: Tesla does not deal with service contract companies, so the customer carries information between the service center and the administrator. Say that at delivery, not during the claim.
Hybrids
Most programs rate a hybrid as a gas vehicle, so the gas schedule applies and the hybrid battery is an option or a surcharge. Some battery and maintenance products exclude hybrids outright. Present the hybrid battery on every hybrid.
Roadside
A high-voltage battery cannot be jump-started. Some programs add limp-along charging, a short charge to reach a station, limited by time, distance and how often it is used. Others only tow.
Three things EV customers ask, answered honestly.
"Is the battery covered?"
Answer from the declaration page in front of you: covered as a part, covered because the option is on, or covered by the factory warranty until a date you can name. Then say when a weaker battery counts as a failure.
"My range will drop."
It will, a little, and that alone is not a claim. Explain the failure point on this contract, and that letting the battery run fully flat is excluded.
"Can I charge anywhere?"
Yes, with compatible equipment. Damage from aftermarket cables, power strips and incompatible chargers is excluded, and the home charger is not part of the vehicle.
An EV customer asks more technical questions than a gas customer, and is quicker to notice a guess. The finance managers who sell the most EV coverage are the ones who answer from the form. That is what our product knowledge training is built on.
The right program for the brands you actually sell.
More than one program
Brand eligibility, battery treatment and wrap rules differ from one administrator to the next. We place several, so an EV your current program excludes still has a contract on your menu.
Read from the contract
We train your finance office on the form you sell: where the battery sits, the capacity rule, the charging exclusions. The answers on this page are the ones your managers will give.
Built into your profit program
EV claims history is younger than gas, so whether EV contracts sit inside a reinsurance or retro program or stay direct is a real decision. We walk through it before you write the first one.
Electric vehicle service contract questions
What is an electric vehicle service contract?
An electric vehicle service contract is a vehicle service contract written for a battery electric or hybrid vehicle. Instead of an engine and transmission, its coverage schedule names the parts an EV actually has: the traction motor, inverter and converters, drive motor control, the onboard charger and, depending on the program, the high-voltage battery. Coverage, eligibility and exclusions are set by the administrator and the contract form.
Does an EV service contract cover the battery?
It depends on how the contract is written, and there are four common answers. On some programs the drive battery pack is a listed covered part. On others it is covered only if a battery option is selected and paid for. A wrap sold beside the factory warranty usually leaves the battery to the manufacturer’s high-voltage battery warranty, unless a battery option is added. And some contracts do not accept electric vehicles. Read the declaration page and the coverage schedule of the contract in the deal.
Is battery degradation covered?
Gradual range loss is covered only when the battery falls below the point the contract defines as a failure. Some forms define it as holding less than 70% of the original storage capacity, or the manufacturer’s figure where that is lower. Others follow the manufacturer’s allowable capacity guideline without printing a number, and some say nothing. Complete depletion, letting the battery run fully flat, is excluded regardless of the cause on the forms that address it.
What is an EV wrap?
A wrap is a service contract sold on a newer EV that still has factory coverage, and it covers the vehicle around that coverage. Programs treat the battery differently. On at least one wrap form the term begins and ends with the manufacturer’s high-voltage battery warranty, and the high voltage battery and drivetrain are not covered under the wrap plan. On other programs the battery is excluded from the wrap unless a battery option is added. Check which one you are selling before calling it battery protection.
Are hybrids covered by an EV service contract?
Usually a hybrid is rated as a gas vehicle and covered under the gas schedule, with the hybrid battery added as an option or carried with a surcharge. Some battery and maintenance products exclude hybrids altogether. Check how your program classes hybrids before presenting.
Does an EV service contract cover the home charger?
Not on any EV contract form we have read. Coverage applies to charging hardware on the vehicle, such as the onboard charger and, on some forms, the charging port. The charging cord is excluded, and so is damage caused by improper charging, aftermarket cables, power strips or incompatible charging devices.
Can you buy a service contract for a Tesla?
On some programs, yes: Tesla models are rated and priced by class. Other programs list Tesla as ineligible. Claims also work differently, because Tesla does not deal with service contract companies directly, so the customer carries information between the service center and the administrator. Tell the customer that at delivery, not during the claim.
Can a dead EV battery be jump-started by roadside assistance?
No. A high-voltage battery cannot be jump-started, and roadside programs say so. Some add limp-along charging, a short charge to reach a station, usually limited by time, distance and frequency. Others only tow.
Does Elite FI Partners publish EV service contract prices?
No. What an EV contract costs depends on the vehicle, its class, the coverage level, whether the battery option is added and the administrator. We match the program to the brands you sell and the customers you finance, and price it on your actual inventory.
General information about how EV service contracts are commonly written, drawn from the specimen contracts of the programs Elite FI Partners places. Coverage, eligibility, exclusions and limits vary by administrator, contract form and state. The contract in the deal decides. Not legal advice.
Two ways to start.
Set your store up yourself, or have us walk you through it first. Either way you start in the same place.
Get set up on EV / Hybrid Coverage.
Answer a few questions about the store and pick the products you want on your menu. We confirm the details with you, then open the accounts and send the paperwork.
See which EV program fits your brands.
Tell us the EV and hybrid brands you sell and the contract on your menu today. We will show you where the battery sits on each option and price it on your inventory.
Not ready for either? See your own numbers first with the contract breakdown. Enter one contract and see where its premium goes, and what is left for the reserve. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is stored.