Ankit Deshmukh drives from Mumbai most weekends and since switching to an electric SUV he has developed a habit he never had with petrol. He watches the remaining range against the distance to the next fast charger and does the subtraction twice.
A 36-year-old who plans road trips for a living outside work, Ankit wanted to know what actually happens if that subtraction goes wrong on a Sunday evening on an expressway. His policy lists roadside assistance. What it does not say is how far the tow truck will take him.
Roadside assistance generally covers an electric car that has run out of charge, but it works differently from a petrol car in one decisive way. There is no electric equivalent of delivering five litres of fuel, so the answer is almost always a tow.
That makes the towing distance limit in your policy the number that matters most. Beyond that limit, the cost is yours.
Does roadside assistance cover an EV that runs out of charge?
Generally yes. Roadside assistance covers electric vehicles, including immobilisation caused by the battery running out of charge or malfunctioning.
EV-specific roadside assistance addresses situations unique to electric cars, including a vehicle stopping because the battery has run out of charge.
The caution is that not every roadside assistance plan is written with electric cars in mind. A plan built around fuel delivery, jump starts and flat tyres covers three problems, only one of which an EV can have in the same form.
Check the wording rather than the label. A plan that lists towing to a charging point or EV recovery specifically, is doing a different job from one that lists fuel delivery.
What actually happens when an EV runs out of charge?
You get towed to a charging point, because charge cannot be delivered at the roadside the way fuel can.
This is the structural difference between an EV and a petrol car in a breakdown and it changes what you should look for in the cover.
Table: Running out of fuel versus running out of charge
Petrol or diesel car | Electric car | |
|---|---|---|
Typical remedy | Fuel delivered at the roadside | Tow to a charging point |
Distance you must travel | None, you refuel where you stand | However far the nearest working charger is |
Time to resume | Minutes | Tow time plus charging time |
Cost driver | The fuel itself | The towing distance |
What limits the cover | Quantity of fuel supplied | Kilometres of towing included |
Some providers now offer mobile charging units that deliver enough charge to reach a station rather than a full battery. Availability is limited and varies by city, so treat it as a bonus if your provider offers it rather than something to rely on.
How far will roadside assistance tow your EV?
Only to the limit written in your policy. Towing beyond that distance is usually chargeable to you and this is the single most important figure for an EV owner to know.
Roadside assistance plans commonly tow a vehicle to the nearest garage within a specified distance and where the distance exceeds that limit, the extra cost falls on the owner.
For a petrol car this rarely bites, because garages and fuel stations are dense. For an electric car it can, because the destination is not the nearest garage but the nearest working fast charger and on newer expressways those can be far apart.
Work out your own exposure before you need to. If your policy tows 25 kilometres and the charging gaps on your usual route run to 60, you have identified a real cost before it becomes a surprise on a Sunday night.
Ask your insurer for the towing limit in kilometres, in writing and ask whether the limit is measured to the nearest garage or to the nearest charging point. The two are not the same destination for an EV.
Does using roadside assistance affect your No Claim Bonus?
Generally no. Roadside assistance is usually treated as a service rather than a motor claim, so using it typically leaves your No Claim Bonus intact.
This matters more than it sounds, because it removes the hesitation. Owners often weigh whether a callout is worth the eventual premium impact, in the way they would weigh a small own-damage claim.
With roadside assistance that calculation generally does not apply, since the service does not register as a claim against the policy.
Terms differ between insurers and between plans, so confirm the position in your own policy wording rather than assuming. What is worth knowing is that most plans also cap the number of callouts allowed in a policy year, which is the real limit on using it freely.
What if the 12V battery dies instead of the main battery?
An electric car also has a conventional 12-volt battery that runs its electronics and if that fails the car will not start even with a fully charged main battery.
Most owners never learn this until it happens. Control modules cannot start up without 12-volt support and the high-voltage system cannot be activated without those modules running.
The practical consequence is that an EV can be immobilised with a full traction battery and the fix is an ordinary jump start rather than a tow or a charge.
When you call for assistance, describing the symptom accurately saves a wasted callout. A car that is completely dead with no dashboard lights is a different problem from a car that shows zero range remaining.
Does the tow truck need to be a flatbed?
Usually yes. In most electric cars the motor stays connected to the driven wheels even in neutral, so towing with those wheels turning risks damage.
Flatbed transport removes the risk of motor overspeed and damage to reduction gears from wheel rotation during towing.
There is a claim dimension to this as well. Damage caused by improper towing often does not appear immediately and faults may surface days or weeks later, at which point attributing them to the original incident becomes difficult.
Two questions are worth asking when you call. Is the vehicle being dispatched a flatbed and does the operator know this is an electric car? An insurer told at the outset that the vehicle is electric will usually send the right equipment.
What does EV roadside assistance not cover?
The service itself rather than the consequences, with limits on distance, callouts and location and materials often charged separately from labour.
Table: Common limits in roadside assistance cover
Limit | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
Towing distance | Kilometres beyond the stated limit are chargeable to you |
Number of callouts | Most plans cap how many times you can use the service in a year |
Coverage area | Service is typically limited to motorable roads and highways |
Labour versus materials | Labour is generally covered, consumables and materials may not be |
Repeated breakdowns | Recurrent failures from an unresolved fault may not be covered |
Repairs themselves | Assistance gets you moving or moved, it does not pay for the repair |
Roadside assistance is a mobility service, not a repair cover. It exists to end the situation you are stuck in and the repair that follows runs through your comprehensive policy or your own pocket, depending on what happened.
How should you choose EV roadside assistance cover?
Match the towing distance to the charging gaps on the routes you actually drive and confirm EV-specific recovery before you need it.
Table: What to confirm before your next long drive
Question to ask your insurer | Why it matters for an EV |
|---|---|
What is the towing distance limit in kilometres? | Determines what you pay when the nearest charger is far |
Does the limit apply to a charging point or only a garage? | An EV needs a charger, not a workshop |
Is flatbed recovery included? | Most EVs should not be towed on their driven wheels |
How many callouts are allowed per year? | Sets how freely you can use the cover |
Is mobile charging available in my region? | May avoid a tow entirely where offered |
Does using the service count as a claim? | Affects whether your No Claim Bonus is touched |
Zurich Kotak General Insurance Company (India) Limited offers dedicated electric car insurance including EV-specific roadside assistance and the policy wording sets out the applicable limits, subject to policy terms.
Two habits cost nothing and remove most of the risk. Save the assistance helpline in your phone before the trip rather than searching for it at the roadside and plan long routes around confirmed working chargers rather than the ones an app lists as available.
Conclusion
Ankit's answer took one phone call. His plan tows 50 kilometres, measured to the nearest garage, which is not the same as the nearest fast charger on the route he drives to Goa.
He upgraded the cover before his next trip, saved the helpline number to his phone and now checks charger locations at the halfway point rather than at the point of no return.
Do the same arithmetic on your own route. Roadside assistance for an electric car is worth having and it is worth reading, because the useful part is not whether you are covered. It is how many kilometres of that cover you actually have.
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Frequently asked questions
Will roadside assistance rescue me if my EV runs out of charge?
Generally yes, where the plan covers electric vehicles. EV-specific roadside assistance addresses immobilisation from the battery running out of charge or malfunctioning. The vehicle is usually towed to a charging point rather than charged at the roadside.
Can roadside assistance charge my EV where it has stopped?
Some providers offer mobile charging units in limited areas, typically giving enough charge to reach a station rather than a full battery. Availability varies by city and provider, so confirm rather than depend on it.
Does using roadside assistance count as an insurance claim?
Usually not. It is generally treated as a service rather than a motor claim, so the No Claim Bonus typically stays intact. Terms vary between insurers and most plans cap the number of callouts in a policy year, so check your policy wording.
Why does my EV need a flatbed tow?
In most electric cars the motor remains connected to the driven wheels even in neutral, so towing with those wheels turning can cause motor and gear damage. Flatbed transport avoids it and improper towing can cause faults that appear only later.
My EV is completely dead but the battery was charged. What happened?
It may be the 12-volt battery, which powers the electronics and control modules. Without it the car cannot start, regardless of the main battery's charge. This needs a jump start rather than a tow to a charger.
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