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Insurance Alert: Check Your Home & Farm Policies for E-Scooter and E-Vehicle Coverage
With electric powered transport becoming more common, it’s a good time to check to see if your home or farm covers electric vehicles, including e-scooters, e-skateboards, and electric ATV-style vehicles.
A recent review of policy documents shows that many insurers treat these popular electric devices differently, creating significant gaps in both property and liability protection.
Key Risks to Check Now:
1. Property Cover (Contents) – The Sub-Limit Trap
Many standard Home & Contents policies include cover for e-scooters, e-bikes, and similar electrically powered personal transport devices under the ‘Contents’ section. However, this coverage is almost always subject to a low amount (sub-limit) and on the premises only, not in use on roads or footpaths.
Action Required: check your policy to see if a sub-limit applies. For many policies, coverage for e-scooters is capped at as little as $5,000 in total. If your device is worth more, you may need to talk to your insurance adviser.
2. Legal Liability – Personal Injury to members of the Public is a common Exclusion
The most critical potential gap is lack of legal liability cover.
While most Home & Contents policies provide liability cover up to $20 million for personal injury to Third Parties or damage to their property, cover for motor vehicles, including e-scooters and e-skateboards is often excluded.
Inconsistent Rules: Some insurers explicitly exclude all liability claims connected to the use of e-scooters/e-bikes, even if they are low-powered and unregistered. If you injure a pedestrian while riding, your policy may not cover the resulting legal cost or court awarded damages.
Farm Policies: Owners of farm policies or those operating electric ATV (e-ATV) vehicles should verify their coverage. These are usually classified as “Motor vehicles” and are typically excluded from liability and property cover unless they are specifically noted as unregistered, farm-use exceptions.
The Bottom Line: Do not assume these devices are covered, especially if there have been changed from the factory settings.
Review your current policy cover to confirm whether your electric vehicles is covered, excluded, or restricted by a sub-limit.
Talk to your Risk Adviser who will be able to provide advice about cover that suits your needs.