The author | Yunge
The source | Auto Grand view
On December 14, the China Insurance Industry Association officially issued the "Exclusive Clauses for Commercial Insurance of New Energy Vehicles (Trial)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Exclusive Clauses"), which includes the risks of equipment such as fire and combustion of new energy vehicles, batteries and energy storage systems, motors and drive systems, charging piles, etc., and the application scenarios are further expanded, covering driving, parking, charging and operation.
According to the latest production and sales data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on December 10, 2021, from January to November 2021, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 3.023 million units and 2.99 million units, respectively, and the market penetration rate of new energy passenger cars reached 19.5%. In addition, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a number of articles proposing to accelerate the promotion and application of new energy vehicles and accelerate the construction of supporting facilities such as charging and replacing power stations.
The accelerated transformation of electrification in the automotive industry has brought about the explosive growth of new energy vehicles, and with the increasing market share of new energy vehicles, special car insurance for new energy vehicles is more important. According to the statistics of Bancassurance, from 2013 to 2017, the number of new energy vehicles insured increased by an average of 78.6% per year, and the average premium of automobile insurance policies was 21% higher than that of traditional fuel vehicles. It is estimated that the premium scale will reach 154.3 billion yuan in 2025, and the premium of new energy vehicles will account for 15.7% of the total premium of automobile insurance.
However, the current insurance company's enthusiasm for the underwriting of new energy vehicles is insufficient, mainly due to the high insurance rate of new energy vehicles, which makes the profitability of new energy vehicle insurance poor, according to Shenwan Hongyuan research report, the current loss rate of new energy vehicle insurance generally exceeds 85%, and the industry is facing greater underwriting loss pressure.
Therefore, how to resolve the contradiction between the growing demand for auto insurance for new energy vehicle owners and the lack of enthusiasm of underwriting companies for new energy vehicle insurance is an important problem that needs to be solved urgently.
The "Exclusive Clause" clarifies that the scope of insurance for new energy vehicles is wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles and other means of transport that are driven within the territory of the People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), adopt a new power system, rely entirely or mainly on new energy, and are used for passenger use by personnel or for transporting goods and carrying out special operations on the road, but do not include motorcycles, tractors and special vehicles. According to the definition, the new energy vehicles that can be insured this time cover plug-in hybrid (including range extender) vehicles, pure electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.
3 main insurances, fire and combustion are regarded as protectable areas
The three main insurances of the "Exclusive Clause" are new energy vehicle loss insurance, new energy vehicle third-party liability insurance and new energy vehicle personnel liability insurance, the three main insurances are relatively independent, and one or more insurance can be insured at the same time.
The protection liability of "New Energy Vehicle Loss Insurance" is: during the insurance period, the insured or the insured new energy vehicle driver in the process of using the insured new energy vehicle, due to natural disasters, accidents (including fire and combustion) caused by the insured new energy vehicle body, battery and energy storage system, motor and drive system, other control systems, and all other equipment at the factory direct loss, and does not fall within the scope of exemption from the insurer's liability, the insurer is responsible for compensation in accordance with the provisions of this insurance contract. The use process of new energy vehicles includes driving, parking, charging and operation.
The insurance liability of "new energy vehicle third-party liability insurance" and "new energy vehicle personnel liability insurance" is roughly the same as that of traditional car insurance, but both indicate that "accident" includes "fire and combustion", that is to say, the "fire and combustion" of new energy vehicles is regarded as an accident that can be guaranteed, which is in line with the accident situation of frequent fires in new energy vehicles in the recent year.
At the same time, the application scenarios of "use" of new energy vehicles are specifically marked as "including driving, parking, charging and operation", which further expands the insurance coverage.
Thirteen additional insurances are included in the scope of insurance liability
In addition to the three independent main insurances, the model insurance clause in the Exclusive Clause also includes 13 additional insurances. The legal effect of the rider clause is superior to the main clause, although the rider cannot be insured independently. Among them, four are exclusive additional insurance for new energy vehicles, including: additional external grid fault loss insurance, additional self-use charging pile loss insurance, additional self-use charging pile liability insurance, and additional special clauses for value-added services for new energy vehicles.
Among them, the liability insurance for the loss of self-use charging piles makes the coverage of new energy vehicles not only cover the loss of the vehicle itself, but also includes the property loss and personal injury that may be caused by auxiliary equipment such as charging piles and the equipment itself. This is the innovation and exploration of the characteristics of new energy vehicles in the exclusive terms. According to the data, by the end of 2020, there are 1.681 million charging piles in the country, an increase of 37.9% year-on-year, and the vehicle-to-pile ratio reaches 3:1, according to the national construction target of 1:1, the number of charging piles will continue to rise. In addition, the additional insurance includes losses caused by abnormal current and voltage power grids, reflecting the humanized protection of insurance.
It is expected that the premiums of small and medium-sized new energy vehicles will only fall and not rise
According to Shenwan Hongyuan's research report, in 2017, the average compensation for new energy rental leases and urban buses was 6067 yuan and 7290 yuan respectively, which was significantly higher than the corresponding traditional fuel vehicles of 4782 yuan and 5363 yuan. The compensation for new energy road buses is lower than the average compensation for fuel vehicles.
How does the price of captive insurance for new energy vehicles change? At present, it is not yet known, and finally it will be calculated according to the compensation data of the actual new energy vehicle. However, some relevant property insurance personnel said that the price will try to maintain the principle of balance.
According to the Guojun non-banking team, according to its research, it is expected that the benchmark premium of new energy vehicles under the "Exclusive Terms" will decrease slightly compared with the benchmark premium of the current comprehensive reform of automobile insurance. In other words, new energy vehicle insurance premiums are expected to decline slightly.
Battery attenuation is not covered
The Exclusive Clause states that the insurance company is not responsible for compensation in the event of "natural wear and tear, battery attenuation, decay, corrosion, failure, and defects in its own quality". Relevant people in the industry said that battery attenuation is a normal equipment depreciation process, which is inevitable in the process of use and is not within the scope of insurance.
Compared with traditional fuel vehicles, new energy vehicles have many differences, and the risk of the three-electric system of the core components of new energy vehicles is much higher than that of fuel vehicles, and the insurance of traditional cars is no longer suitable for new energy vehicles.
In response to the current "exclusive terms", Guotai Junan Securities Research Report pointed out that the current loss rate of new energy vehicles is much higher than that of traditional fuel vehicles, and the profit space for realizing the insurance business of new energy vehicles is relatively small. In this way, the car insurance market share is small, the risk-bearing ability of the company does not have a significant advantage in new energy vehicle car insurance, the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in the draft for the draft of auto insurance reform mentioned that "support the industry to develop including inspection, roadside assistance and other auto insurance value-added services", small and medium-sized insurance companies may be able to attract car insurance traffic through a variety of special value-added services, in order to seek business transformation. Powerful auto insurance companies should launch new products as soon as possible, deepen their understanding of new energy vehicle technology, accumulate data and experience faster, continuously iterate products, and maintain core competitiveness in subsequent development.
In addition, the change of the direct sales model of new energy vehicles has also brought about changes in the mode of new energy vehicle insurance. Traditional fuel vehicle dealers account for a relatively high proportion of sales, relying on the premium agency model can obtain a greater right to speak in the claims market; while the current direct sales model of new energy vehicles enables car companies to directly dialogue with new energy car owners, accelerating the disintermediation of car insurance, which is both an opportunity and a challenge for insurance companies. The high cost of insurance business will prompt most car companies to choose to cooperate with insurance companies, but at the same time, there is a phenomenon similar to Tesla's attempt to develop its own insurance, and the insurance business in the auto aftermarket is expected to be an important starting point for car companies to change the auto insurance ecology in the future.
With the release of the "Exclusive Terms", it undoubtedly provides more perfect services for new energy vehicle owners and provides a guarantee for the development of China's new energy automobile industry market. Under the background of fierce competition and low profits in the auto insurance industry, exclusive auto insurance for new energy vehicles has undoubtedly opened up a new incremental market. For consumers, the exclusive car insurance of new energy vehicles fills the pain points of insufficient protection of traditional car insurance, helps to eliminate consumers' doubts about car purchase, and increases the car experience of new energy vehicle consumers.