The growing popularity of imported electric vehicles (EVs) such as Tesla’s Model Y in Korea is raising concerns among non-life insurers that high repair costs could push up auto insurance loss ratios, industry officials said Sunday. Figures from the Korea Insurance Development Institute (KIDI) show that the number of EVs covered by auto insurance climbed to 911,797 in the first half of this year from 182,957 in 2021, an almost fivefold increase. EVs accounted for 3.7 percent of all insured vehicles, up from 0.8 percent over the same period. For insurers, however, the growing EV market brings higher claims costs relative to premium income. The EV loss ratio, including claims adjustment expenses, reached 107.6 percent last year, exceeding the 88.2 percent recorded for non-EVs by 19.4 percentage points. The gap remained wide in the first half of this year, with EVs posting a ratio of 105.1 percent against 85.6 percent for non-EVs. A ratio above 100 percent indicates that payouts and claims handling expenses outweigh premium income. The gap was much narrower in 2021, when the ratios were 83.