Xerider suggests that you spend a little time reading these articles to inform yourself about the need to drive an EDP with specific insurance. We have selected recent articles for you that seemed relevant to us.
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Article from OBJETCONNECTE.NET published on February 18, 2019
Regulations for electric scooters
Corresponding to the desire for less polluting and more economical transport, the electric scooter is becoming popular with the public. Intended for the general public, the use of this machine is nonetheless regulated, despite the lack of specific legislation.
Regulatory history
The electric scooter was first likened to a pedestrian. This results from a decision by the European Commission dating from 2002. It then ruled that a Segway cannot be considered a vehicle, preferring to grant it a status similar to a pedestrian. In 2008, this decision was invoked by the French Secretary of State for Transport at the time to clarify France's position on the subject of electrically powered two-wheelers, including scooters. At this time, electric scooters are only allowed to travel on sidewalks or pedestrian areas, exactly like the classic non-motorized scooter. Since then, the regulations have become more vague. And if the Action Plan for Active Mobility (PAMA) recommended in 2014 to define the circulation conditions for Personal Travel Devices (EDP) of which the electric scooter is a part, nothing has been done since.
Current legislation
Since 2008, the regulations on electric scooters have become even more vague, with realities on the ground often contradicting the legal texts.
Traffic regulations
Electric scooters are now officially prohibited on public roads (sidewalks, cycle paths and pavements). This ban concerns all electric transport vehicles such as self-balancing scooters, hoverboards and even monowheels. In practice, the use of electric scooters is nevertheless tolerated up to a speed of 6 km/h on sidewalks and 25 km/h on cycle paths. This tolerance does not apply to electric scooters that can exceed 25 km/h. These models therefore remain restricted to strictly private use and their owners must declare them to the Ministry of the Interior. You will also need to check with the municipality, which may prohibit any use of an electric scooter on its territory. Despite popular belief, wearing a helmet is not obligatory.
Standards to respect
French legislation does not provide for any standards to be respected regarding electric scooters. To do this, manufacturers must refer to the European standards governing New Individual Electric Vehicles (NVEI). Not very specific, these standards mainly concern the safety of electrical parts, in particular the battery, which may explode. If he cannot present a certificate of conformity with European standards, the user of an electric scooter risks a fine of up to 750 euros.
Necessary insurance
Civil liability insurance (RC) is essential to cover any accident involving other road users (pedestrians and other vehicles). If this civil liability guarantee is the mandatory minimum, some insurers offer insurance for electric scooters.
Despite this legislative cacophony, users of electric scooters continue to multiply. Overall, NVEI sales are growing by 30 to 35% per year. Under pressure, politicians are taking action and promising new regulations soon.
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Article LE FIGARO.FR published on February 22, 2019
Can we do without NVEI insurance (scooter, hoverboard, gyrowheel)?
Electric scooters, self-balancing scooters and hoverboards are now everywhere. These New Individual Electric Vehicles (NVEI) are not without danger! How to protect yourself? Is insurance compulsory?
Highway code and NVEI insurance: what are the obligations?
As for a conventional two-wheeled motor vehicle, such as a scooter or a motorcycle, a NVEI whose speed can exceed 6 km/h is subject to the Highway Code and must travel on the road or cycle paths, the regulations as for its last ones not yet being fixed.
Drivers of electric scooters or other hoverboards are prohibited from driving on sidewalks, under penalty of a fine of €135. They will have to respect signs such as stopping at red lights and stop signs, as well as adapt their driving to their environment and other road users.
While NVEI insurance can represent an additional expense in a household budget, prices generally start from around ten euros per month. In the event of an accident, NVEI insurance can be very economical: going without it would be a mistake that could be expensive!
More and more insurers are entering the NVEI insurance market
Faced with the explosion in the vehicle offering on the NVEI market, and in particular electric scooters, more and more insurers are offering specific insurance. In 2018, Luko launched the first insurance dedicated to owners of electric scooters.
From 4 euros per month, the driver is insured in the event of bodily injury or material damage, in the event of collisions, theft, and also benefits from civil liability guarantee.
Other more traditional insurers, such as MAIF, Allianz and Aviva, in turn offer to insure these NVEIs and their drivers. Be careful, however, to distinguish between insurance for NVEI not exceeding 6 km/h, often included in the comprehensive home insurance contract, and that for vehicles that can exceed 6 km/h. At MAIF for example, two separate contracts will be offered depending on the power of the NVEI to be insured.
Is it really obligatory and useful to take out NVEI insurance?
If some insurance companies offer to include NVEI insurance in comprehensive home insurance, is it then necessary to take out dedicated NVEI insurance? The answer is yes! Quite simply because insuring your NVEI is now mandatory.
Is the private life liability insurance of home insurance sufficient?
NVEIs still benefit from legal uncertainty regarding their use, it is therefore essential to be well insured in order to be covered in the event of an accident. Theoretically, if the vehicle does not exceed 6 km/h, it is free to travel on the sidewalk. It is therefore the private life civil liability guarantee, included in the home insurance contract, which will cover any damage caused to a third party in the event of an accident.
However, in practice, the reality is quite different: many insurers do not include NVEI in home insurance contracts, so it is essential to take stock with your advisor! In the event of a serious accident, and without insurance, the driver will be obliged to compensate the person(s) he/she may have injured himself.
For a NVEI traveling on the road, and therefore exceeding 6 km/h, dedicated insurance is mandatory, since it will be considered as a motor vehicle in its own right, in the same way as a scooter for example. As a reminder, a lack of insurance is punishable by a fine of €3,750 or even a suspension of your driving license.
When renting an electric scooter, is NVEI insurance mandatory?
Beyond the increase in sales of NEVs in recent years, the rental market has also experienced sudden expansion. NVEI rental offers and in particular self-service electric scooters are increasingly developed! What about insurance? Do you need to have NVEI insurance to rent an electric scooter?
The answer is no. When renting a NVEI, insurance is included in the rental price. It is the company that rents the vehicles, and is therefore responsible for them, that provides insurance to its users. This system works in the same way as when traveling with Blablacar or when renting skates at the ice rink, for example.
However, this does not exempt drivers from having civil liability coverage in the event of damage caused to others!
What happens in the event of an accident?
In 2017, Road Safety recorded 284 injuries and 5 deaths linked to the use of a scooter or rollerblades. This represents an increase in the number of accidents of 23% compared to 2016, and this percentage is constantly increasing. Accidents linked to NEVs are increasing in number, and the consequences can be serious. In the event of an accident, bodily injury suffered by the driver will not be covered by civil liability coverage.
Without an identified third party or in the event of injury alone, the driver will have to face the damages of the accident on his own: health costs not covered by social security, possible loss of income and other expenses.
Here again, the Life Accident Guarantee (GAV) does not always cover accidents linked to NVEI, it is therefore essential to take out dedicated NVEI insurance in order to be compensated!
NVEI insurance provides, in addition to civil liability coverage and compensation in the event of theft or breakage, bodily injury coverage. Damages suffered by the driver are therefore fully covered in the event of an accident.
Exclusions from NVEI insurance guarantees
Wearing a helmet is not obligatory, but it is still strongly recommended! In addition to the increased risk of head trauma in the event of an accident, not wearing a helmet may be subject to exclusion from coverage by the insurer. The physical damage suffered will not then be compensated, and health costs can quickly soar, especially in the event of hospitalization.
Business travel and expensive transportation of people or goods are also often excluded from coverage by insurance companies.
Just like with a conventional motor vehicle, damage resulting from dangerous or drunk driving as well as damage intentionally caused is never compensated.
Each insurance company has its own conditions of application, it is therefore essential to find out about the different exclusions of guarantees of an NVEI insurance contract before subscribing to it!
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GMF.FR article published on January 25, 2019
ELECTRIC SCOOTER INSURANCE: DRIVE WITH CONFIDENCE
Where are we with scooter insurance and its users? Between 2016 and 2018, the size of the electric scooter market almost doubled. The regulatory framework for these new means of travel, however, still remains unclear, sometimes making the task of obtaining proper insurance complicated.
Focus on the new uses of electric scooters in urban areas and the risks taken by their uninsured users.
THE BOOM IN PERSONAL TRAVEL DEVICE (EDP)
Classic or electric scooters, skateboards, mono-wheels or other hoverboards, they have all taken an important place in our city centers. In 2017, there were more than 1.73 million of these new means of travel in circulation in France and growth projections of around 30% for 2018. (Le Parisien, October 2018).
Scooters in particular occupy a major share of this market, with 1.33 million mechanical scooters and 101,819 electric scooters in circulation in 2017, they have become essential for urban users but also peri-urban users, often between 25 and 35 years old.
If the scooter market is exploding, we have at the same time noticed a 23% increase in accidents involving scooters and rollerblades between 2016 and 2017 (although official statistics group together accidents involving rollerblades and scooters, the scooter is the main cause of this numbers).
Furthermore, these figures do not take into account accidents involving pedestrians. (20 minutes, October 2018)
Among the factors often singled out, we find in particular the too fast speed of the machines (an electric scooter can reach 25 km/h at full speed), the lack of attention or even the lack of protection of the drivers.
These serious risks, often obscured by the fun or practicality of the electric scooter, make users forget that their liability in the event of an accident is not covered by simple traditional civil liability. Only specific scooter insurance can cover the driver's liability in the event of an accident.
SCOOTER INSURANCE, THE SOLUTION?
In the current legal framework, insuring your civil liability when driving a scooter (or any other VTM) is mandatory. Indeed, not having taken out insurance covering the use of the scooter can be very expensive in the event of an accident involving the driver's liability.
If nothing is yet required by law, it is obligatory to take out insurance for this vehicle, in order to cover its liability.
The MOTOLIS insurance contract provides cover for the driver's civil liability as well as the responsible driver's guarantee for personal travel devices such as scooters.
