Leave it to an Insurance Guy to go all grinchy on you during the Christmas season and mess with the fun. According to the folks that know this kind of thing, e-scooters and e-bikes will be some of the most popular gifts this season. They are very popular and great fun, but they live in a weird gray area where insurance is concerned. First, let's talk about rented scooters (think Lime, Bird, etc).
When I was in Nashville recently, I saw Lime scooters EVERYWHERE. It seemed like a requirement for all inebriated bridal parties to invade the Strip in roving gangs, combining the worst of Hell's Angels and Barbie. Bear in mind that when you open an account, all that stuff that you swear you read when you clicked "I agree to the terms and conditions" was language that protected the scooter company, not you. So, suffice it to say that if you run over someone on a Lime scooter, it's all on you. The same is true of a rented e-bike, and there have actually been fatalities caused by these "vehicles." And chances are, you have a gap in your insurance that this slips right through.
But what if you own such a machine? How do you insure it? It's a real problem. Your auto insurance policy almost certainly has an exclusion for a vehicle "which has fewer than four wheels." Some insurance companies have endorsments available to try to address this, but that's the exception, rather than the rule. That leaves us with the liability coverage on your homeowners policy. Most of these policies will exclude "self propelled land vehcles." There are some exceptions, of course, such as exceptions meant to add back coverage for ridign lawn mowers and other equipment that services the property. The question is whether your machine would fit under one of these exceptions, and it probalby won't, particularly when you're away from the insured premises.
So, Grinch, what do I do to protect myself? First, call your agent to get his or her advice. There are a handful of speicalty policies out there that are designed to cover such risks. A more practical solution may be an umbrella policy. Such policies provide very broad liability coverage, and they are often designed to fill in gaps in other liability policies. While an umbrlla policy may not specifically list an e-bike as a covered item, if there's no exclusion that applies, then you're covered. An umbrella is a great policy to have anyway, so it would be my choice here. Just be sure to get your agent's advice about how the coverage would apply. Then, Zoom on!
