How to Know If You Have E-Bike and Scooter Insurance Coverage - Buy Side from WSJ

Here’s what you need to know about insurance protection for these devices before you zip off to work or play

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Contributor, Buy Side from WSJ

Reyna Gobel is a contributor to Buy Side from WSJ.

Updated September 13, 2024, 4:34 PM EDT

Electric scooters and e-bikes are a relatively new and increasingly popular mode of transportation. Top e-scooter models like Segway’s Ninebot Kickscooter F40 can go for around $700. A top e-bike like the Aventon Level can cost close to $2,000.

If you’re considering renting or buying one, you should know that they fall into a bit of an insurance gray area. Because of the assistive motors, they aren’t considered bikes, which are typically covered by homeowners insurance. Yet they don’t have the horsepower to be considered in the same category as motorcycles, which have their own insurance policies. None of the major insurance carriers, like Progressive or Allstate, offer coverage yet for stand-on electric scooters or e-bikes.

But you may still be able to use insurance coverage you already have—or add on to your existing policy—to protect yourself. Note that insurance rules vary by state, and policies are highly variable, so you’ll want to check the specifics of your individual policy to see what’s covered. Here are the four ways you’d be generally covered.

You can get specific policies that will cover you for liability for e-bikes, but most don’t yet extend to electric scooters. Velosurance, for one, offers policies that cover e-bikes for theft and damage and there are additional policies for liability and personal injury from $25,000 to $100,000 in coverage. Policies vary in cost, and are available in 43 states and Washington, D.C. For a $1,200 bike in New York state, primary coverage would cost about $100 a year with a $200 deductible, according to Dave Williams, co-founder and CEO of Velosurance.

Electric scooter coverage may be on the horizon. Voom Insurance, an insurance technology company that offers policies for motorcycles, is working on developing a stand-alone insurance policy for electric scooters. Until then, the only protection Voom CEO Tomer Kashi has when he rides his electric scooter to work is a helmet and his health insurance. “I have good health insurance, but it’s even more important to be safe,” says Kashi.

Your credit card or homeowner’s insurance could come into play if your electric scooter or e-bike is damaged or stolen soon after purchase. If you use a credit card like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which has purchase protection, you could file a claim if something happens to the equipment. Just know that credit-card protections have a lot of caveats, like a typical time frame of 90 days from the time of purchase.

You might also be able to file a claim through your homeowners or renters policy for damaged or stolen personal property, but the usefulness of that would depend on your deductible and how it might affect your future policy costs. If your deductible is $1,000 and the device only costs $700, it wouldn’t be worth it.

It’s possible your homeowners or renters policy could cover accidents where you damage to property or hurt someone, but it depends how your policy defines a bike. Many policies are written to only cover two-wheeled pedaled devices, and anything with an electric motor would be excluded. You’ll want to call your insurance company or agent and ask specifically, because finding the information in your policy could be difficult.

Another type of policy that could possibly help you is a personal injury policy, which is usually associated with car insurance. You’ll also have to consult with an insurance company or insurance agency to see if such a policy would cover you for electric scooters or e-bikes where you’re located, because every policy will be different.

With property damage, you might have to get an attorney involved, as coverage is debatable, says Michael Barry, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group. Generally, damage or liability that’s not directly covered might be covered under personal umbrella insurance. This is a type of supplemental policy for people who want to insure items beyond what their home, rental or auto insurance covers.

“The coverage could cost several hundred dollars per year, but it could save you thousands or more in liability,” says Barry.

But since umbrella policies essentially go on top of an underlying policy (like an umbrella), if that underlying policy doesn’t cover electric scooters and e-bikes, it’s unclear whether the umbrella policy would too. “Insurance companies haven’t caught up with the times,” says Alicia Bryce, an insurance agent with King Insurance in Ocala, Fla

If you rent an e-scooter or e-bike, your coverage will vary based on your location and the rental company, as the services you use will be subject to local laws. Some cities, like San Francisco, require scooter rental companies to obtain a permit from the city and provide proof of insurance before they can operate legally. If your scooter malfunctions, such as if the brakes don’t work, the company may pay for any liability you have in addition to your own injuries.

Bird, one of the largest scooter rental operators in the U.S., says it submitted a claim to insurance on less than 1% of rides in 2022. Its user rental agreement in the U.S. spells out many insurance and coverage scenarios, one of which notes in capital letters that, “your automotive insurance policies may not provide coverage for accidents involving or damage to this vehicle,” and urges you to contact your insurance company or agent to see what would be covered in an accident.

That’s also the advice from Barry: “Before either renting or buying a scooter, talk to your insurance professional about whether you’re covered in an accident that you cause,” so you can be aware of your risks and potential coverage.

Reyna Gobel is a contributor to Buy Side from WSJ.

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