Aviva has launched a standalone insurance product that specifically covers electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, responding to a “boom” in the number being installed in the UK.
The insurer is offering Erection All Risks (EAR) and Operational All Risks (OAR) cover for EV chargers, which is aimed at business customers including contractors, car park operators, local authorities, asset managers and forecourt operators.
The policies will cover businesses against the risk of fire, flood, malicious or accidental damage and will be available for single chargers all the way up to entire networks.
Aviva hopes it will capitalise on the growing popularity of electric cars, with 940,000 plug-in cars currently registered in the UK. According to motoring organisation the RAC, this includes 460,000 zero-emission vehicles. At the end of August, there were nearly 34,000 public charging points across the country, data from Zap-Map indicates. This is a 34% increase on last year.
And there will be no let-up in the popularity of electric vehicles, with the British government planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
The government is targeting at least 300,000 public charging points to help drivers top up and avoid the dreaded ‘range anxiety’, which has become an inhibitor of EV adoption.
More and more people are discovering the environmental and economic benefits of driving an electric vehicle and the number on roads is growing daily. Of course, EVs need charging points and with government targets and investment in place to encourage this, insurers are really seeing this sector take off.
We’re delighted we can now offer them just that, offering a high level of cover and customer support to give installers and operators the peace of mind they need as they push forward with technology which has the potential to transform all our lives.
Ahmad Raja, Aviva UK Regional Manager for Engineering, Construction and Renewable Energy
The new insurance products continue Aviva’s commitment to net zero; it claims to be the first major insurance company anywhere in the world to target net-zero emissions by 2040, and is a leading insurer of EVs. It has committed to transition its own fleet of vehicles to electric within the next three years.
