At the New Energy Vehicle Insurance Development Exchange Meeting held yesterday by the Insurance Association of China (IAC), He Hao, deputy director of the Property Insurance Supervision Department of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), said that with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, insurance business designed for traditional fuel vehicles can increasingly no longer meet the differentiated needs of NEVs, and enterprises and consumers are paying growing attention to NEV premiums and loss assessment and claims settlement.

　　Data show that China's NEV market saw strong demand in 2017: from January to October, NEV production and sales reached 517,000 and 490,000 units respectively, up 45.7% and 45.4% year on year. However, the safety hazards brought by NEVs cannot be ignored. It is understood that NEVs differ from traditional fuel vehicles in structure and principle, and their risk points are also different.

　　Because traditional vehicles and NEVs differ considerably in performance and in where risks erupt, some insurance experts say the rate-setting standards for traditional motor insurance no longer suit the differentiated risk-matching needs of NEVs, and dedicated insurance products are urgently needed to close the risk exposure gap.

　　He Hao pointed out that, faced with the huge development potential of the NEV market, the NEV insurance market - as an important part of the automotive aftermarket - will also be driven forward and become an emerging segment within motor insurance, better meeting the protection needs of car owners in this brand-new field. In addition, given that consumers have not yet fully affirmed the technological maturity of the NEV industry chain, dedicated NEV extended warranty insurance, charging pile insurance and the like will also face huge market demand.

　　However, NEV insurance lacks historical data and mature experience, and the insurance industry faces challenges in new product development, rate setting, sales and risk control. IAC president Zhu Jinyuan revealed that the IAC will launch professional research on dedicated NEV insurance clauses, risk pricing and claims technology, and will increase the supply of insurance products to meet the diverse insurance needs of the market and consumers.

Source: Shanghai Securities News  2017-12-06