No. At least not yet. At the time of writing in Feb 2023 it's not mandatory.
With privately owned electric scooters currently illegal to ride on UK roads, e-scooters don’t require insurance.
If you hire an electric scooter the insurance will be packaged in by the operating company.As demand for privately owned e-scooters continues to grow, then so will the demand for e-scooter insurance.
It’s with the government to class e-scooters in the same bracket as e-bikes, so that insurance providers can create an appropriate product.
Right now you can’t insure your e-scooter with Laka (or any other insurer for public use), but you can insure your e-bike.
Why? Because electric scooters are classified as Personal Light Electric Vehicles (PLEV), whereas e-bikes are classified as Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC).
EAPCs are fully legal in the UK, whereas electric scooters (as a PLEV) aren’t. Electric scooters can only be used on UK roads via a hire scheme as part of government trials.
However, we’re expecting the government to make privately owned electric scooters legal, and when they do, we'll be the first insurer to bring collective cover to e-scooter owners across the UK.
If you currently own an e-scooter then it could be covered by your home insurance. Although this only applies when your scooter is at home. Riding it in a public place would likely invalidate the cover.
Eek.When e-scooters do become legal in the UK, it’ll be important to have specialist electric scooter insurance to ensure you’re fully covered.
The government hasn’t yet stated whether e-scooters will be legalised after the trial period. This 12 month trial period was initially planned for 2021 but was brought forward to July 2020 as part of the government’s green restart of local transport.
The electric scooter trials are scheduled to end in May 2024. This means we should expect a decision on the plan for e-scooters going forwards would be made before this date.
With the urgency to get e-scooters on the roads in our towns and cities, we’re hoping that the government will make privately owned electric scooters legal soon.
E-scooter liability insurance helps protect other people, vehicles and property when an accident is deemed to be your fault, such as hitting a car and causing damage to the vehicle. A third-party policy would cover the costs of the other person’s property and medical expenses.
If you’re looking for electric scooter insurance you’ll find that there are a slim amount of choices out there.
Yes you could check with your home insurance provider to see if you can include your e-scooter with them. However you should check the fine print to see what you’re covered for. Riding your e-scooter in public will most likely not be covered!
If you find an insurance policy for your electric scooter your premium will be largely affected by the price of your e-scooter. Specialist policies for a £500 electric scooter can currently cost around £50 per year. However remember this is still only valid if you use your electric scooter on private land.
