Today, in large and small cities, more and more people prefer to ride electric scooters, gyro scooters, unicycles, which are united in the traffic rules under the category of “individual mobility aids” (IM). This format of movement is convenient and affordable. It is enough to download the application to your phone, attach a bank card – and you can rent the unit you like. But against the backdrop of the popularity of SIM, the number of accidents on the roads involving electric scooters has increased. The question of whether it is possible to receive monetary compensation for damage caused in an accident becomes relevant. Let’s consider this question in more detail.
Pitfalls of scooter insurance
The issue of the need to introduce OSAGO for electric scooters has been discussed at the legislative level more than once. But so far it has not been finally resolved.
From March 1, 2023, the specified vehicle officially belongs to the SIM. But the law does not oblige to register it with the traffic police, which means that there is no need for third-party liability insurance.
However, today insurers offer voluntary programs to owners of electric scooters, within which monetary compensation for damage caused in an accident is possible. It can be received not only by the owners of the vehicle, but also by third parties recognized as victims.
If the accident occurred due to the fault of the person who was driving the electric scooter
Material damage is compensated by the person responsible for the traffic accident or the person who hit the pedestrian. The size of the lawsuit can be hundreds of thousands of rubles. If a person who has made an accident on a scooter has taken out insurance in advance, then the company will compensate for the damage. Experts predict that the maximum amount of compensation can reach 200,000-500,000 rubles. It takes into account both compensation for harm to the health of third parties and property damage.
If the unit is rented
In Russian cities, kicksharing (scooter rental) is a popular service. But can a person who has rented a SIM protect their financial interests in the event of a road accident? Some companies offer this preference. Using a mobile application, a client can take out travel insurance, its cost is from 30 to 50 rubles. The program allows you to receive monetary compensation for damage to health and property. But the maximum amount of compensation for the tenant of two-wheeled vehicles will be 100,000 rubles.
But in such cases, you need to study the conditions of insurance. For example, to study whether the health of the scooter itself or the people who have suffered from his ride is insured?
Protecting your own health
To receive monetary compensation for your own injuries sustained while riding a two-wheeled vehicle, it is enough to take out an accident and illness insurance policy. Its owner is entitled to financial compensation, regardless of whether he is guilty of a road accident or not. But there are a number of conditions in the contract under which cash payments are not provided (when, for example, a person drove a SIM while intoxicated).
If the person operating the scooter was injured in an accident, then he can compensate for material damage at the expense of the company in which the tortfeasor (car owner) issued the OSAGO policy.
Some companies offer the customer to insure the electric scooter at the time of purchase. The list of risks is standard:
theft, theft, damage to the vehicle;
life and health of drivers;
harm caused to third parties.
Additionally, compensation can be provided for damage caused by a short circuit.
The indemnity limit for insurance issued at the time of purchase of a two-wheeled vehicle often does not exceed 200,000 rubles.
Electric scooter insurance cost
The financial issue for clients of insurance companies has been and remains paramount. How much the owners of electric scooters will pay for a policy that will protect their material interests in the event of a road accident is still unknown. Insurers use individual calculation methods. But, as practice shows, the cost of the policy varies in the range from 7,000 to 15,000 rubles. It is comparable to the cost of an OSAGO policy for a car. Experts say that if the compulsory insurance program is extended to means of individual mobility, then its price can be reduced through such an instrument as a franchise. In order for the client not to overpay for OSAGO on an electric scooter, it is necessary to provide for a simplified procedure for registering a two-wheeled vehicle (for example, through “Gosuslugi”),
Nuances that have not yet been adjusted
Experts do not exclude that in the foreseeable future the state will approve the introduction of OSAGO on scooters. But the question remains: who will be in charge of drawing up the protocol in a situation where the driver of a two-wheeled vehicle knocks down a person on the sidewalk?
From a formal point of view, the participants in the incident are pedestrians, so the traffic police are not required to record it. It is also not clear who will monitor and verify whether the electric scooter is insured or not.
It is necessary to take into account the age of those who ride SIM. Often the units are operated by teenagers who have not reached the age of majority. This complicates the procedure for issuing an OSAGO policy – parents will have to insure the object.
The issue related to the object of insurance also remains unresolved, since the market has a wide range of electric scooters with different speed and technical characteristics. Compulsory SIM insurance is possible subject to the integration of the license plate system.
Another incident, according to experts, is that the traffic police patrolling the streets on motorcycles cannot keep up with the means of individual mobility. Only after a detailed study of the above issues, it is possible to adopt a law on OSAGO for electric scooters.