– If you injure people or property on an illegal electric scooter, you risk ending up in bottomless debt, says legal adviser at the Consumer Council, Thomas Iversen. In the summer of 2022, the rules for electric scooters became stricter. Among other things, alcohol limit, age limit and helmet requirement were introduced. Now it is tightened even further. From 1 January 2023, your electric scooter must also be insured, after the authorities have decided that it will be covered by the Motor Liability Act. Driving without one can result in hefty fines. news has investigated the price of insurance with four different companies. Large damage potential We are approaching 1 million imported electric bicycles and electric scooters in the last five years, according to figures from Statistics Norway. They have become very popular in this country. Serious personal injuries have thus followed. Some injuries have been permanent, and some have even resulted in fatalities. In 2021, a total of 1879 injuries with electric scooters were reported, only in Oslo. Due to the extent of the damage, the authorities have therefore reclassified electric scooters and similar electric vehicles from bicycles to “small electric motor vehicles”. – The insurance must cover an unlimited sum in the case of personal injury and up to NOK 100 million in the case of property damage. From experience, we know that there will also be some dental damage, which is often costly, says Ole Irgens, communications manager at Tryg. An electric scooter is collected by Falcken after a traffic accident. Photo: Bertil Lernæs Had to pay dearly When Nikolai Ravn Aarskog cycled home from work as a doctor on duty in 2020, he met an electric scooter. At a crosswalk, it went wrong. Back then, electric scooters were classified as a bicycle, even though it was a small electric vehicle. This would prove to punish Aarskog dearly. He suffered a broken upper jaw and extensive dental damage after the accident. The money he had set aside for the wedding now had to go to cover part of the bill. – I learned then that there was a great need for better regulation of electric scooters with a view to financial responsibility, says Aarskog. This is how Nikolai’s teeth looked after the first treatment by a maxillofacial surgeon at Ullevål Hospital. Photo: Privat He hopes compulsory liability insurance will make more people who ride electric scooters aware that it is a motorized vehicle with the potential for damage. At the same time, he doesn’t think it solves everything. – It may be that the new insurance scheme means that those who drive electric scooters avoid large expenses, but I don’t think it makes any difference to those who are exposed to injuries like I was. – Why not? – The person who hit me had liability insurance as part of contents insurance, but the case against the insurance company is still not closed. I am still fighting for them to cover the expenses I incurred, says Aarskog. Variation in price Liability insurance for small electric motor vehicles is something new for the insurance industry. This means that the prices can currently vary from company to company. The four companies news has been in contact with have prices that vary from NOK 59 to NOK 82 a month. But you can prepare for the offers to change. If you are a benefit customer, the monthly price can also be cheaper. For damage to property, the liability limit is NOK 100 million, while the limit for personal injury is unlimited, says Iversen of the Consumer Council. – In other words, it is very important to take out insurance. Liability insurance for small electric vehicles covers, among other things, damage to other people’s property and assets, as well as personal injury. Thomas Iversen is a consumer lawyer at the Consumer Council. Photo: Forbrukerrådet You have to think about this With liability insurance, you and possibly others involved in an accident will be guaranteed good compensation in the event of serious injuries. There are also some additional things you should think about when the insurance mandate comes into effect. 1. No speed limit, no insurance: If you have an electric scooter without a speed limit of 20 km/h, you will not get insurance. These are illegal to use, and a lawyer at the Consumer Council encourages you to have this dismantled at a service workshop. – You have already taken an extremely large financial risk by using it. Consumers with scooters that do not have a speed limiter should have it dismantled, says Iversen. If damage occurs if you provide incorrect information, you also risk no compensation. – A consequence is hopefully that it will become less relevant to sell vehicles that do not meet the legal requirements, says press manager at Storebrand Synnøve Hjelle Halkjelsvik. 2. Only applies to one product: The insurance will be linked to the identification number found on the bicycle, and is therefore valid for only one product. If you have three small electric motor vehicles at home, you must therefore have three different insurance policies, as the legal requirement says. – If you have several vehicles, it is worth checking the possibility of a group discount, says Halkjelsvik. Photo: Geir Olsen / NTB 3. Have year-round insurance, even if it is not used in winter: Weather and climate vary in Norway. While electric scooters may be used almost all year round in Rogaland and Agder, the same is not the case elsewhere in the country, says If’s head of communications, Sigmund Clementz. – Winter, with cold, snow and ice, also starts and ends at different times each year, he says. You don’t need to insure the bike if you don’t use it, but the insurance companies recommend insuring it for the whole year anyway. – The scooter can, for example, start to burn when it is being charged, and it will be difficult at all times to have an overview of everyone in the household who can use the vehicle, says Storebrand’s press manager. Note that vehicles you rent, via operators such as Voi, Ryde and Tier, will already have insurance through the lessor – this has been a requirement since 1 September this year. Facts about electric scooter injuries Gender distribution: 43 per cent women and 57 per cent men Average age: 30 years Severity of injuries: 63% light injuries (for example mild head trauma, cuts and sprained ankles) 28% moderate injuries (for example concussions and minor fractures) 9% serious injuries (fractures requiring surgery and bleeding in the head) (SOURCE: Oslo Emergency Department)
ttn-69
