– We sell electric scooters like never before. Since this summer, we have sold electric scooters for over twelve million kroner, so this is well received by people, says managing director Vegard Leksen for E-Wheels in Bergen.
In the large store in Bergen, there are rows of electric scooters. Leksen finds that most customers are not aware that it is now legally required to have liability insurance on privately owned electric scooters.
INSURANCE: There are several hundred thousand electric scooters in private ownership in Norway. Most of these may now be illegal to use because the owners have not taken out insurance. Photo: Sorosh Sadat / TV 2
From 1 January 2023, it became illegal to use privately owned electric scooters and stand-up boards without having taken out your own liability insurance. It happened after electric scooters were reclassified as “small motor vehicles” and compulsory insurance was introduced under the Motor Liability Act.
The electronics industry estimates that there are around 500,000 private electric scooters in Norway today.
However, a survey carried out by TV 2 among the largest insurance companies shows that just under 10,000 people have insurance on their electric scooters.
Waiting for the season
– I think more people choose to wait with insurance until it is the season for electric scooters, but in the worst case it can cost you dearly, says director of personal market, Robin Østby, in KLP non-life insurance.
INVITATION: Robin Østby encourages you to take out liability insurance, but also check whether you have a legal electric scooter. Photo: Yngve Bugge Drangsholt / TV 2
– It’s one thing if you get into an accident when you’re out driving, but situations can also arise where an electric scooter is parked quietly in a communal garage.
Østby adds that if a fire occurs that is caused by the electric scooter, in the worst case scenario, you can be held responsible for millions in damages if the fire spreads.
– There is a sum limitation in the Motor Liability Act of NOK 100 million for damage to property, but there are no limitations for personal injury. Then you can imagine how expensive it can be, he says.
– Should follow the law
Law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen at the University of Bergen, on the other hand, believes that such fire liability, as mentioned by the insurance company, is an exaggeration.
DISAGREE: Law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen does not agree that customers will be liable if a fire occurs, but still encourages them to take out liability insurance on electric scooters. Photo: Sorosh Sadat / TV 2
– Usually, both houses and blocks of flats are insured from the start, and the manufacturer is responsible if the electric scooter were to catch fire, so I think that is stretching it too far. It is unlikely that you will see a case where an owner of an electric scooter will be responsible for the costs of a fire, he says.
However, Marthinussen clarifies that it is important to have liability insurance on the electric scooter now that it is required by law.
– It is understandable that people wait with the insurance when you have bought an electric scooter before it was legally required to have liability insurance, but you should follow the law and buy insurance when you think of using it again.
– Some do not understand the point
Back at E-Wheels, Vegard Leksen experiences that not everyone understands why liability insurance is required by law on privately owned electric scooters.
E-WHEELS: The general manager shows off an electric scooter. Photo: Sorosh Sadat / TV 2
– Some people understand the point of it, while others don’t quite understand why you should have insurance on such a small vehicle. In any case, we tend to recommend insurance to everyone who buys electric scooters from us, says Leksen.
– There have been some cases of accidents, so it is important to have insurance in place.
