Electric Vehicle Fire Insurance Rules: What insurance money will you get if your electric scooter or car catches fire? Know these 3 strict rules related to claims
The craze for electric vehicles (EVs) has increased very rapidly all over the world including India. People are buying electric scooters and cars indiscriminately because they are environment-friendly and provide relief from the rising expenses of petrol and diesel. But, in the recent past, many incidents of battery fire in electric vehicles, especially electric scooters, have been reported from different parts of the country.
In such a situation, every EV owner or new buyer is worried that “If God forbid my electric car or scooter suddenly catches fire, will I get the insurance claim money?” The answer is ‘yes’, but for this you need to know some very important terms and conditions of automobile insurance:
1. Which insurance policy will cover fire claim?
if you only have Third-Party Insurance If your vehicle catches fire, you will not get a penny. By law, this policy only compensates for damage caused by your vehicle to another person or property.
Own Damage or Comprehensive Insurance: To avoid damage due to fire in EV, it is mandatory for you to have a comprehensive insurance policy. This policy covers natural calamities, theft, accidents as well as fire damage to the vehicle.
2. Under what circumstances will the claim be approved? (losses to be covered)
If you have a comprehensive policy, insurance companies pay the full claim for fire caused by the following:
Short circuit or technical fault: If there is a sudden short circuit in the wiring of the EV or it catches fire while moving.
Battery Blast: Thermal runaway (fire or explosion) in the battery due to overheating or manufacturing defect.
External reasons: The vehicle catches fire after an accident or another vehicle parked nearby catches fire.
3. If these mistakes are made, the claim will be immediately rejected (precautions)
Insurance companies conduct very thorough investigations into EV fire claims. If the fire is caused by any of the following mistakes, your claim will be rejected in a jiffy:
After-market accessories (unauthorized modifications): If you have installed any local light, horn or any extra electronic gadget from outside in your electric scooter or car, for which the original wiring has been cut or changed, then the claim will not be available at all.
Use of unauthorized charger: If the battery explodes if the vehicle is charged with a cheap or unauthorized charger instead of the original charger provided by the company, it will be considered negligence on the part of the user.
Commercial use and overloading: Using a private vehicle without a commercial permit for commercial work or carrying excess weight makes the fire claim invalid.
2 most important ‘Add-on Covers’ for EV owners
The most expensive part of electric vehicles is its Battery (EV Battery) Which is about 40-50% of the total cost of the entire vehicle. General insurance policies depreciate over time. So when purchasing your EV policy, make sure to include these two add-ons:
Zero Depreciation Cover: You will not have to pay any money from your pocket (wear and tear cost of plastic or fiber parts) for replacement of parts after fire.
Battery Protection Cover: This is an add-on specially designed for EVs. It also protects the battery from damage caused by voltage fluctuations or water ingress during charging.
What to do immediately in case of fire?
If the EV catches fire, first move to a safe distance and immediately inform the fire brigade and police. The most important documents to file a claim are the police FIR report, fire brigade report and photographs/video of the incident site. After this, inform the oil or insurance company within 24-48 hours.
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