Refusing insurance on the grounds of high risk without explaining the reason, spending an extra 2,000 yuan on seat insurance to renew the policy
Why has renewing the warranty of new energy vehicles become a problem?
■ Investigation motive
Recently, Ms. Qian from Huai'an, Jiangsu Province called to report that she bought a pure electric car last year. When she wanted to renew the car's insurance recently, an insurance company she had previously insured with refused to insure it. The staff said it was because the score in the car insurance system was too high. , as a high risk, so it was refused insurance.
"My car has never had any accidents in the past year, so why was it suddenly judged to have a high risk factor?" Ms. Qian felt baffled.
Coincidentally, Mr. Wang, a car owner in Beijing, also called and said that he recently purchased a gasoline-electric hybrid car, but when he applied for insurance, he was refused insurance by an insurance company. The other party said that the risk was too high, but did not explain the specific reasons for the risk. high.
"I have driven a fuel vehicle for more than 10 years and have never encountered this problem." Mr. Wang said that he later changed the insurance company with the help of a 4S store before successfully insuring it.
Why do new energy vehicles frequently encounter insurance rejections?
Is it illegal for an insurance company to deny coverage?
In the context of the current boom in the new energy vehicle market, do insurance-related businesses need to be improved?
With questions, the reporter conducted an investigative interview.
□ Our reporter Sun Tianjiao
I bought a new energy vehicle and was rejected when I applied for insurance for the second time with the same insurance company. The staff said that the insurance company rated it as "high risk." This made Ms. Qian from Huai'an, Jiangsu Province very angry: "I have always been careful when driving and followed the rules. According to traffic rules, I haven’t had any accidents in the past year, so why is it ‘high risk’?”
What made her even more angry and puzzled was that after being rated as high-risk by the insurance company, she seemed to be "branded". She consulted multiple insurance companies in succession, but they all refused on the grounds that they "failed the system review". Covered.
In desperation, Ms. Qian called the official complaint number of the first insurance company. The business manager replied that the system could not be changed, but she could handle the business manually at the counter.
Ms. Qian came to the counter and was told by the salesperson that she had to purchase seat insurance in order to cover her.
In the end, Ms. Qian could only spend an extra 2,000 yuan to purchase seat insurance, so that her car could be successfully insured.
A recent investigation by a reporter from "Rule of Law Daily" found that the above situation is not an isolated case.
Many new energy vehicle owners reported that they were refused insurance when renewing their vehicle insurance, or were forced to purchase other types of insurance in order to be insured.
In addition, some insurance companies have refused to maintain standards that are not transparent and unified, have not fully informed policyholders, and increased prices in disguise, which have been criticized by new energy vehicle owners.
Some car owners bluntly said: "Why is it so difficult to insure new energy vehicles?"
Either refuse insurance or raise premiums
Like Ms. Qian, Mr. Zhang from Changping, Beijing, encountered the same experience.
He bought a new energy vehicle in January 2023. When he inquired about renewal at the end of that year, he was told that the insurance quotation was more than 10,000 yuan, which was a direct increase of more than 3,000 yuan from the first year's quotation.
"I contacted the insurance company through the staff at the 4S store. Because I couldn't accept such an outrageous price increase, I asked the staff to help me check the quotes from other insurance companies. As a result, he told me that other companies were refusing to insure. But No insurance company has clearly stated the reason why the price has increased significantly and why the insurance has been refused." Mr. Zhang said that he also called the official phone number of the insurance company to try to find out what went wrong.
"But the customer service didn't know anything about it. They just said that it was displayed that way in the system, and they couldn't find out the reason."
Later, Mr. Zhang asked the 4S store staff to inquire and learned that the original insurance company had significantly increased the premium because Mr. Zhang’s mileage was too high and the system determined that his vehicle was at risk of being used for online ride-hailing.
"And because this kind of data is shared with other insurance companies, other insurance companies also directly blocked me and refused insurance."
In the end, Mr. Zhang gave up renewing his policy with this insurance company at a high price and instead chose a small insurance company he had never heard of before.
"From the perspective of a car owner, I would definitely prefer to choose a large insurance company, which is safer and more secure. But these companies either increase the premium significantly or directly refuse insurance, leaving me with no choice."
After Mr. Zhang shared this experience with the new energy car enthusiasts group, he immediately received the support of two other car owners.
One of the car owners chose to insure with a little-known small insurance company in the first year. When he wanted to change insurance companies in the second year, he was told that he had no insurance record and refused to insure; the other car owner because he liked Self-driving car with a high mileage. Like Mr. Zhang, the system judged him to be an online ride-hailing car and refused insurance. In the end, after an appeal, he was able to renew the vehicle insurance at a very high premium price.
"My two previous cars were fuel vehicles, and I have never encountered this situation." This experience made Mr. Zhang feel that there are still many things that need to be improved in the insurance of new energy vehicles. One is whether the car owner should be informed of the increase or decrease in premiums. Clear and unified standards, the other is to at least tell the car owner the specific reasons if the insurance is refused, and provide a channel for appeal.
"I didn't drive an online car-hailing car at all. My high mileage was because I traveled by self-driving, but the system directly determined that it was an online car-hailing car. There is absolutely no explanation."
It is worth noting that when Mr. Zhang consulted multiple insurance companies, some insurance companies refused to insure commercial insurance, but offered to insure them compulsory traffic insurance.
Some insurance companies simply refuse to cover all types of insurance.
Han Xiaojuan, a lawyer at Beijing Yinghe Law Firm, said that it is illegal for insurance companies to refuse to cover compulsory traffic insurance.
According to the "Regulations on Compulsory Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Liability Insurance", the insured should choose an insurance company that engages in the compulsory motor vehicle traffic accident liability insurance business when applying for insurance, and the selected insurance company shall not refuse or delay underwriting.
If an insurance company refuses or delays underwriting compulsory motor vehicle traffic accident liability insurance or forces the insured to enter into a commercial insurance contract, the insurance regulatory agency of the State Council shall order it to make corrections and impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 300,000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, it may be restricted business scope, order to stop accepting new business or revoke the insurance business license.
Suo Weihua, a senior partner at Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm, told reporters that compulsory traffic insurance cannot be refused coverage, but commercial insurance can be refused coverage.
However, if an insurance company refuses insurance on the grounds of "serious losses" or "requires additional purchase of other insurance types" when negotiating commercial insurance business with car owners, or if it significantly increases premiums without prior explanation, it will have to wait until the contract is concluded. Clearly perform notification obligations to customers in advance.
"Insurance companies should do their due diligence and determine the underwriting rates based on the risk profile of new energy vehicles and other relevant factors in the format contracts and promotional materials for selling insurance products, and disclose the calculation standards and legal basis for the rates; when rejecting insurance, Fully explain the reasons for rejection to customers; perform detailed notification obligations to customers who intend to insure new energy vehicles to avoid bearing corresponding legal liabilities due to dereliction of duty," Suo Weihua said.
Many factors make it difficult to obtain insurance
Recently, reporters searched multiple social platforms using the keyword "new energy vehicle refusal to insure" and found that there are many new energy vehicle owners with relevant experience.
From the experience sharing of car owners, we can learn that situations where insurance is refused can basically be divided into the following categories: First, the vehicle is judged by the system to be too risky and is directly refused insurance; second, the vehicle accident rate is high, and some companies refuse to insure, while others The company has significantly increased premiums; third, relevant models and brands have been classified as "controlled models" by insurance companies.
What is the root cause of the difficulty in insuring new energy vehicles?
To this end, the reporter consulted the customer service of multiple insurance companies.
According to the feedback, the insurance company unanimously believes that the insurance party will not refuse insurance without reason. The main point of contradiction is that in terms of commercial insurance, car owners do not recognize the insurance company’s quotation.
"If the system determines that the risk of the vehicle is too high, it may be that the conditions of the vehicle do not meet the company's underwriting standards, or the owner has concealed the information that the vehicle has an online ride-hailing business." An insurance company customer service gave an example. If the driving mileage exceeds a certain Standard (approximately 20,000 kilometers per year) or a certain car model with a high accident rate may be directly refused insurance if the system scores it too high.
Once the system denies insurance, it cannot be changed during the entire online application process. However, sometimes car owners can apply through offline manual counters, but the premium coefficient must be higher.
Mr. Cong, an industry insider in the automobile insurance industry in Hebei, told reporters that refusals to insure new energy vehicles do happen from time to time. Possible factors that lead to insurance companies’ decision to refuse insurance include: too many vehicle violations, high accident rates for car owners, and low age of car owners. Vehicle brands have high failure rates, etc.
Mr. Cong analyzed from an industry perspective that currently, new energy vehicle insurance is calculated based on the vehicle price before state subsidies, not based on the actual purchase price after subsidies by car owners, which makes the premium cost higher.
In addition, insurance companies’ terms and tax adjustments are lagging behind and cannot keep up with the technological iteration and market demand of new energy vehicles.
According to Suo Weihua, the reason why insurance companies are unwilling to underwrite some new energy vehicles is that the addition of new energy vehicle insurance business has broken the traditional auto insurance system and directly led to a decline in underwriting profits.
The structure of new energy vehicles determines that their maintenance costs, that is, claims settlement costs, are too high. The integrated die-casting design of new energy vehicles affects the whole body, and the body is pre-installed with various sensing devices; new energy vehicle models are updated quickly. , sales of some models are low, making it difficult to mass-produce spare parts.
All these lead to high maintenance costs.
According to data from China Banking and Insurance Corporation, the damage rate of the core power of household new energy vehicles is three times that of the engine accident rate of fuel vehicles.
In Han Xiaojuan's view, the main reason why it is difficult to insure new energy vehicles is that the accident rate and compensation rate, maintenance price, and cost pressure of new energy vehicles are higher than those of fuel vehicles.
Due to the characteristics of new energy vehicles such as high torque and fast acceleration, as well as the relatively young customer base, new energy vehicles are more fancy in design and configuration than traditional fuel vehicles. Some car owners have not been able to keep up with their driving habits in time. Once intelligent components such as perception systems and vehicle-road collaboration systems fail, they may bring traffic risks, and the accident rate is relatively high.
"In the past two years, new energy vehicles, especially pure electric vehicles, are rapidly entering the field of public travel. The new energy online car-hailing vehicles in operation in some areas account for more than 95% of the total online car-hailing vehicles, and most of them are pure electric vehicles. Practice "It is indeed because the operating vehicles in new energy vehicles have increased the accident rate of the entire new energy vehicle." Han Xiaojuan analyzed that at the same time, new energy vehicle insurance provides better protection: the main insurance clearly clarifies that whether there is a fire while driving, parking or charging, The loss of the "three power" systems (battery, motor, and electronic control) can be compensated if it meets the terms and conditions, which also means that the cost borne by the insurance company will be higher.
Develop unified standards and optimize insurance types
In recent years, the new energy vehicle market has continued to grow and develop.
According to official data, the production and sales of new energy vehicles will reach 9.587 million and 9.495 million vehicles respectively in 2023. my country's new energy vehicle production and sales account for more than 60% of the global share.
In 2023, domestic new energy vehicle sales will account for 31.6% of all vehicle sales.
As of the end of 2023, the number of new energy vehicles in my country will be 20.41 million.
In Han Xiaojuan's view, mass automobile consumption is gradually shifting from fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles.
In the field of public travel, switching vehicles to new energy sources has become a general trend. Therefore, the insurance issue of new energy vehicles should keep up and requires further improvements at the legislative level, relevant departments, the insurance industry, car owners and other parties.
Han Xiaojuan said that in order to improve the insurance issue of new energy vehicles, it is necessary to distinguish between compulsory traffic insurance and commercial insurance for new energy vehicles.
For compulsory traffic insurance, insurance regulatory agencies should strengthen supervision and punishment; insurance companies should enhance their sense of social responsibility, actively assume social responsibilities, and conduct business in accordance with the law; they should establish a complete complaint and reporting channel to facilitate vehicle owners and vehicle managers when they encounter insurance Complain when the company refuses insurance or requires the purchase of other types of insurance; the media strengthens targeted publicity to enhance the legal awareness of car owners and vehicle managers.
For commercial insurance, Han Xiaojuan suggested that the legislative level should keep pace with the times and further improve the "Exclusive Clauses for New Energy Vehicle Commercial Insurance of the China Insurance Industry Association (2021 Draft for Comments)", including vehicle damage insurance and third-party liability insurance. , vehicle personnel liability insurance, external power grid failure insurance, self-use charging pile loss insurance, self-use charging pile liability insurance and other aspects should be optimized according to the characteristics of new energy vehicles.
Suo Weihua suggested that the government should formulate unified regulations for insurance companies in the development, pricing, and claims of new energy vehicle insurance products, and should increase policy support for the new energy vehicle insurance market, including tax incentives, financial subsidies and other measures. Reduce the operating costs of insurance companies and increase their enthusiasm for developing new energy auto insurance business.
At the same time, relevant departments should organize in-depth investigations into the current difficulty in insuring new energy vehicles, study and formulate countermeasures, provide suggestions for the government to introduce policies and regulations, increase law enforcement and supervision, and handle complaints and reports in a fair, just, timely and effective manner.
When it comes to the insurance industry, Suo Weihua believes that it should strengthen rectification of the specific problems of difficulty in insuring new energy vehicles, adjust and improve the notification procedures in the insurance contract signing process, advocate and cultivate the concept and model of humanized service for employees; try to establish a dedicated new The energy auto insurance claims team provides professional claims guidance and services; uses big data, artificial intelligence and other technical means to improve the intelligence level of the claims process; strengthens cooperation with new energy vehicle manufacturers, maintenance companies, etc. to improve the convenience of claims services sex.
"In the development process of the new energy automobile industry, the entire industry should accelerate research, strive to overcome professional difficulties in the field of new energy automobile insurance, and launch relevant products, so that new energy automobile insurance products and services will be significantly improved than in the past, and policy terms will be clearer and more rigorous. Insurance responsibilities have been significantly broadened and additional services have become more abundant." Han Xiaojuan said that on this basis, it is also necessary to enrich the suppliers of new energy vehicle commercial insurance.
Many automobile manufacturers have also established automobile insurance agency companies or insurance brokerage companies, and there are also new energy automobile brands acquiring property and casualty insurance companies to develop self-operated insurance business.
In the future, the auto insurance market will be affected by factors such as scale, new car price reductions, and insurance business competition between insurance companies and new energy vehicle brands. Premiums are bound to see a downward trend, allowing consumers to enjoy benefits.
Han Xiaojuan said that in order to distinguish insurance costs, it is recommended that online ride-hailing platforms purchase operating commercial insurance and carrier liability insurance for the platform's self-operated vehicles. For cooperative vehicles, the vehicle owners or managers should also be supervised to purchase commercial insurance.
In addition, it is necessary to cooperate from upstream new energy production companies, parts companies, quality inspection and other links to reduce vehicle management structure risks, so that everyone can ultimately be effectively protected.
"New energy vehicle owners should strengthen their understanding of the policies and regulations related to new energy vehicles, improve their awareness of rights protection, driving skills and necessary maintenance knowledge, and reduce the accident failure rate; when they are unable to obtain insurance or obtain compensation, they can complain to the competent authorities Or file a lawsuit in court to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests." Suo Weihua said.
Comics/Li Xiaojun