The exclusive coverage is expected to see a drop in insurance costs for about 80 percent of NEV owners, but some users say Tesla is facing significant premium increases.
Exclusive insurance for new energy vehicles (NEVs) has officially become available in China, after the Insurance Association of China (IAC) released its terms and conditions earlier this month.
On December 27, the Shanghai Insurance Exchange launched a NEV insurance trading platform, offering the first NEV insurance products from 12 insurance companies.
The platform is a comprehensive trading service platform for exclusive NEV insurance products, in which insurers can provide products and consumers can make insurance purchases and inquiries.
This is expected to provide NEV consumers with a more convenient and reasonable choice when purchasing insurance products. According to data from China's Ministry of Public Security, the number of NEVs in China has reached 6.78 million as of the third quarter of 2021.
Previously, when NEV owners purchased auto insurance, they could only choose the insurance products offered by insurance companies for traditional fuel vehicles, and they did not have comprehensive coverage for batteries, motors, and electric control systems.
In early August, the IAC released a draft of insurance provisions specifically for NEVs for public comment. Earlier this month, a pilot version of the exclusive commercial insurance policy for the NEV market was released.
The exclusive auto insurance policy expands liability to take into account not only the risk of spontaneous combustion in NEVs, but also the risk of damage to batteries, motors and electric controls.
NEVs and core components are covered by commercial insurance after an accident while driving, parking and charging, including spontaneous combustion.
The exclusive insurance is expected to allow nearly 80 percent of NEV owners to see a drop in insurance costs, China Securities Journal said today, citing industry sources.
The premiums that owners will have to pay will be affected by factors including traffic violation records and the number of claims, the report noted.
It's worth noting that some Weibo car bloggers have shared information showing that the amount of insurance premiums some owners need to pay has risen significantly.
In the case of Tesla, for example, the Model Y Performance version with coverage of RMB 395,900 is now facing an insurance cost of about RMB 14,000, an increase of about RMB 6,000, or more than 70 percent, from the previous amount, according to information shared by Weibo blogger @四轮儿车-.
It is unclear whether Nio, Xpeng Motors, and Li Auto buyers will face higher insurance costs.
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