Whether owned or shared, riding electric scooters has become very popular in recent years. But it is operating them-especially on the roads of big cities-comes, with many risks. Individual insurance can cover these for the time before it becomes compulsory for more powerful machines from 2024.

Electric scooters are, popularly speaking, a rip-off. Those that multiple users can share are parked on the sidewalks of larger cities and often on public roads. However, people are also acquiring electric scooters privately, often using them to reach their destinations faster in crowded cities than if they used another mode of transport.

To ride safely, it is essential to follow the rules imposed by the operating regulations. In practice, however, they are frequently violated. As experts from Slavia Insurance pointed out, users are seen as cyclists, with all the rights and obligations that this entails. For example, children under ten are not allowed to ride on the pavement or cross perpendicularly over a pedestrian crossing. Under 18, they must wear a protective helmet while riding.

Insurance against stupidity is essential

Cases of electric scooter riders injuring pedestrians or causing property damage are rising.

If the damage is caused unintentionally or through simple negligence, the rider can compensate the victim from liability insurance, known as a ‘stupidity policy.’ This can be taken out separately or as part of a household insurance policy, which covers all household members.

The important thing is that the sum insured is sufficient to cover the whole of the loss or damage incurred. Insurance companies, therefore, recommend choosing higher policy limits, at least between CZK 10 and 20 million.

If a loss claimed under the insurance occurs, the insurer would always examine whether the guilty party has taken all precautions to avoid the collision. The insurance company will also determine whether they may have been particularly grossly negligent, for example, if they were driving the electric scooter on the pavement while intoxicated.

Ensure your health

When riding an electric scooter, it is not uncommon for various car accidents to occur in which riders and pedestrians, for example, are injured. The most common injuries are fractures of the upper limbs, broken ribs, and unprotected head and cervical spine injuries. For pedestrians struck, it is severe bruising to the back or fractures to the legs.

It would help if you did not underestimate accident insurance compensates for permanent injury or death. And if you are injured abroad while riding an electric scooter, you can be reimbursed by your travel insurance for treatment, transport, and possible repatriation. Of course, the police must also be called to the accident.

Two years of compulsory liability insurance for electric scooters

In 2024, rules approved by the European Parliament are due to come into force, requiring some owners of electric scooters and segways to take out compulsory insurance for their operation. This will apply to machines with a reachable speed of more than 25 kilometers per hour. At the same time, insurance premiums will also be payable for scooters with a cruising speed of over 14 km/h if the machine weighs more than 25 kilograms.

The directive mainly targets faster and heavier machines that pose a danger to pedestrians. The vast majority of ordinary urban electric scooters will thus escape the new rule, as they usually weigh around 10 to 12 kilograms, and their speed is limited to 25 km as mentioned above/h.

The insurance cost could be in the order of a few hundred crowns, similar to mopeds.

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