Saving money on oil to pay premiums? How to make trams affordable and 'affordable'

Source: Guangzhou Daily

How the premiums of some brand vehicles that will soon launch new energy models will change in the future have attracted more attention.

"Just pick up the car a few days late, and the insurance premium is about 10,000 yuan more expensive." Xiao Xin, the new Tesla owner who chose to pick up the car after New Year's Day, "regretted", and his Model 3 premium, which was more than 8,000 yuan queried from the time of booking, has now risen to 18,000 yuan! XiaoXin said: Buying a "tram" was originally to save a lot of "oil money", and now there is a feeling of being wasted in an instant.

The reporter noted that with the official launch of the exclusive commercial insurance clause for new energy vehicles at the end of 2021, new energy vehicles have officially entered the era of exclusive car insurance. However, many car owners find that their premiums are much more expensive when they renew their policies. In this regard, the National Association of Passenger Vehicles also issued a special document pointing out that the introduction of exclusive insurance for new energy vehicles is a good thing, but it cannot make "new energy vehicles affordable and unaffordable".

Some car companies responded

Tesla: From the statistics of December 30, 2021, the increase in Tesla vehicle premiums is about 10% on average in the country, and the premiums of the high-performance version of the more concerned models are within 20% of the national average (the specific amount is subject to the quotation of the local insurance company).

Xiaopeng Automobile: According to the national premium situation feedback from various insurance companies, the average increase of Xiaopeng Automobile's models across the board ranges from 2.9% to 18.2% (the increase of different insurance divisions, different regions and different models is slightly different, and the specific amount is subject to the quotation of the local insurance division).

survey:

Premiums have risen over $10,000? "Te Wei Xiao Li" "does not save money"

Not only do new owners find premiums expensive, but users who renew their policies find similar findings. In January this year, when Mr. Huo, a citizen, renewed the insurance for the Model Y under his name, he was shocked by the quotation sent by the commercial auto insurance commissioner: on the basis of the previous year's no insurance, the price rose directly from nearly 6,000 yuan in the first year to 12,000 yuan, which was about double the price. "Although some insurance types were finally deleted, it still needed more than 10,000 yuan in the end." This increase of about 6,000 yuan, if calculated at 500 yuan per month, is a whole year of oil money. Mr. Huo believes that this makes the cost advantage of new energy vehicles relative to fuel vehicles weaken instantly.

The all-media reporter interviewed a number of car owners and noticed that after the launch of new energy exclusive car insurance, with the increase in the insurance rights and interests of new energy vehicles, the premiums paid by many car owners have increased significantly. For example, tesla premiums, which have attracted much attention, four of the five models have increased their premiums by more than 80%, and car damage insurance alone has risen by more than 114%. According to each model, the premium of "Wei Xiaoli" also increased by 8% to 37%. For example, Ms. Zhou, who renewed her P7, found that her premium increased by about 14%.

According to the commercial auto insurance quotations obtained by all media reporters from various property insurance companies, the comparison between the new and old premiums of hot new energy vehicles in some markets is obvious, and the "big head" of the increase is concentrated in car damage insurance - the most important commercial insurance.

It is worth noting that most of the new brands only rise and do not fall, but there are also some new energy models with flat or even falling premiums, such as BYD's Qin, SAIC Roewe E50, Ei5 and other models The total premium is declining, all because of the "endorsement" of old brands of traditional car companies.

Analysis: Why is the increase in new energy vehicle insurance so large?

Exclusive insurance is more detailed and covers all aspects

Compared with traditional fuel vehicle insurance, insurance industry insiders pointed out that the exclusive car insurance design is more detailed, and the original intention is to cover the risks of all aspects of the use of new energy vehicles, to ensure that car owners have social security pockets when there is a problem with new energy vehicles. Among them, it is worth noting that the maximum insurance amount of the three liability insurance of traditional fuel vehicles is 10 million yuan, but the fire accident limit of new energy vehicles has a double insurance, which can be doubled by 4 times and insured for 40 million yuan.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the All-China Passenger Transport Association, believes that the probability of problems when charging pure electric vehicles is greater than the probability of refueling fuel vehicles, which is the basic reason for the increase in premiums. Li Wenzhong, deputy director of the Insurance Department of the Capital University of Economics and Business, said that the car insurance rate reflects the risk situation of the vehicle and the market supply and demand, and the risk and rate of new energy vehicles are higher than those of fuel vehicles.

Failure rates and payout rates are higher

Ms. Wang, who is in charge of the car insurance business of Pacific Insurance Company, told reporters that the policy cost of new energy vehicles has always been not low, and maintenance costs and insurance rates are the main reasons, "The current loss rate of new energy vehicles generally exceeds 85%." According to China Bancassurance data, from 2016 to the first half of last year, the overall insurance frequency of new energy vehicles was 3.6% higher than that of non-new energy vehicles, the insurance rate of new energy vehicles for household vehicles was higher than that of non-new energy vehicles by 9.3%, and the average compensation for household new energy vehicles was higher than that of non-new energy vehicles by 2.7%.

Model Y is a model with higher insurance in 2021, and its claim rate has even reached 1:1.4, which is equivalent to charging a one-yuan premium to lose 1.4 yuan, so the tesla model premium increase is reasonable." Ms. Wang told reporters that the high loss rate of new energy vehicles has put the industry under greater pressure to lose money, and even the head company can only barely maintain breakeven.

Parts repair and replacement costs are high

Battery claims have always been a pain point for new energy vehicle insurance. Mr. Liang, the after-sales supervisor of Guangzhou Yizhong Automobile Maintenance, told reporters that the batteries of the current new energy vehicle companies have special suppliers, and they cannot be repaired, and the replacement cost of old for new has increased. "The overall premium increase for models using lithium iron phosphate batteries is actually not so large."

In addition, the maintenance cost of the motor is not low, China Bank Insurance Credit data shows that 40% of the new energy vehicles have an average annual motor replacement price of 0.7 million yuan to 14,000 yuan, and some cars are equipped with more than one motor.

The cost of "only changing and not repairing" is reflected in other aspects. For example, Tesla, Xiaopeng and other new energy vehicles use die-cast integrated body, slightly crashing into a place, and it is not easy to repair sheet metal, and can only change the entire frame, resulting in the amount of compensation after the insurance is more expensive than other models. Mr. Liang said that Tesla's accessories are more expensive, such as the Model 3 and the Sunroof glass of the WEILAI ES6 can be nearly 4,000 yuan, which is also the reason for the higher premium increase.

New energy vehicle insurance "one car, one price"

Ms. Wang of Pacific Insurance said that the factors involved in the premium of new energy private cars are diversified, and the pricing of new energy vehicle insurance needs to be "one car and one price", and the actual price will change with the market environment, region, the owner's own situation and the change of the independent pricing coefficient. "The amount of premium to be paid in the current year is a comprehensive result based on historical data. There are also certain differences in the risk of insured vehicles of different brands and models, and the records of accidents and violations of different vehicles are also different. She said that for vehicles that have been insured twice in the previous year, the rate will definitely rise in the new year, and the final premium will be more expensive.

Discussion: How to make new energy vehicles "affordable and affordable"

"New energy vehicles cannot be affordable and unaffordable." The National Association of Passenger Vehicles has recently expressed its position on the rise in premiums. Nowadays, new energy vehicles are quickly becoming the main travel tool for many consumers. According to the latest forecast of the China Automobile Association, the sales of new energy vehicles will exceed 3.4 million units last year, an increase of 1.5 times year-on-year; this year, China's new energy vehicle sales are expected to reach 5 million units, accounting for about 20% of total car sales.

The gradual increase in the ownership of new energy vehicles has also brought about a larger premium scale. According to the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, by 2030, the number of new energy vehicles in China can reach 80 million; at the same time, the scale of related premiums will reach 470 billion yuan. In this case, it is very important to let new energy vehicle owners enjoy real "premium benefits" and eliminate the premium cost disadvantage with traditional fuel vehicles.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, said that after the introduction of the new energy vehicle exclusive insurance, the premium cost of some car owners is high, which is equivalent to letting the oil money saved by the new energy vehicle to pay the insurance, resulting in new energy vehicles that seem to be uneconomical and not conducive to the promotion of new energy vehicles. How to solve the puzzle? Advice has also been given in the industry.

Underwriting data should be kept up to date

Cui Dongshu pointed out that the premium of new energy vehicles is relatively high, and there is also a reason for the lack of historical data accumulation. In particular, the probability of failure of some old models is relatively high, and even after the improvement of model safety technology, the phenomenon of "high safety and low failure" still exists. He suggested that the insurance industry should use updated data information in new energy vehicles and extend analysis with shorter-term data.

"With the accumulation of the practice of captive insurance products, the claims of new energy vehicles will be rapidly iteratively upgraded, and the underwriting pricing will also achieve more refined management, which is expected to promote the return of the loss rate of new energy vehicles to a reasonable level." Ms. Wang of Pacific Insurance said that before the launch of new energy exclusive car insurance, new energy vehicles and traditional fuel vehicle underwriting claims lacked rules for refined management, and insurance data precipitation was not sufficient, resulting in higher premiums for some new energy vehicles in the short term.

Encourage car companies to "operate their own" insurance business

"Appropriately encourage vehicle enterprises to establish their own insurance varieties, expand the insurance business of vehicle enterprises, and establish their own low-premium insurance system supported by data." The All-China Federation of Passenger Vehicles recently issued a document pointing out that while protecting consumers, the comprehensive reform of automobile insurance also needs to follow the principle of "market decision, supervision and guidance", give play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of automobile insurance resources, and improve the formation mechanism of market-oriented clause rates.

The reporter noted that the current "self-operated" car insurance of car companies has relevant clues. Tesla, which was "spat on" with high premiums, was prepared to launch a car insurance business in California three years ago and claimed that the premium price was 30% cheaper than that of the insurance company. In August 2020, Tesla also registered insurance business-related companies in China.

In addition, other domestic new energy vehicle companies also have relevant intentions, BYD had planned to launch a "personalized pricing insurance service" in 2018, and in July of the same year, Xiaopeng Automobile established Xiaopeng Automobile Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. As the largest battery supplier, CATL also invested 30% of the shares in Xiaokang Life, and then signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Chinese Insurance Property & Casualty Insurance. However, the problems faced by car companies entering the auto insurance industry are also innumerable, and to achieve true "self-operation", it also needs to be encouraged and supported by many parties.

Text/Photo Guangzhou Daily All-Media Reporter Deng Li (except by signature)