E-scooter accident damages, in the UAE, who settles those costs?
Mopeds and e-scooters can be a nightmare to motorists and pedestrians because of the fact that they are unregistered, and do not have any insurance cover.
This raises an important question as to who will bear the cost of damages if an e-Tuk-Tuk gets into an accident with an e-scooter. In Dubai, on e-scooters and bicycles there were 4 fatalities and 25 injuries between Jan June 2024 due to various accidents involving these vehicles.
The Dubai Police report reveals that there were 7,846 moving violations in the accidents in the first semester of the year 2024 and 4474 of e-scooters and bicycles were taken by the police forces. This implies that on an average day in Dubai, around 43 traffic violations were recorded and 24 e-scooters or bikes were taken under legal measures by the regulating bodies daily.
If the vehicle owner is at fault The accountable owner could be held liable if there is an accident. Gautam Datta, CEO of Watania International Holding, explained that in circumstances where the owner is at fault and the driver has whole vehicle insurance, the company covering the vehicle will compensate for the damages both the vehicle and e-scooter rider incurred. However, in a situation where the vehicle driver has a third party without paying damages to the e-scooter rider, it is assumed the insurance of the vehicle will undertake the costs of the destruction of the e-scooter but the driver is responsible for the destruction of the e-scooter’s car.
If the e-scooter rider is at fault
For example, if the accident happens because of negligence on the part of the e-scooter rider-in the rider’s relation. Then Datta said the car driver will receive compensation from his own insurance regardless of whether he had comprehensive insurance or third party insurance. Sometimes the insurance will pay for the driver’s damages and later try to recover the amount from the person who caused the accident.
Due to the fault of the e-scooter rider, even if he is injured, the driver of the vehicle, or rest of the passengers in that vehicle do not have to bear any liability towards the e-scooter rider toward his injury, he mentioned.
In discussing the operations at eSanad, CEO Anas Mistareehi stated that the e-scooter damages would typically be excluded from the coverage provided by the car’s insurance and thus the owner of the e-scooter will be required to pay for the repairs unless otherwise agreed in private.
He said for instance where the e-scooter rider is in an accident which involves the e-scooter and where it is the rider who bears the primary cause of the accident, the owner of the vehicle will not be subjected to compensation or any obligation. The vehicle owner is not at fault, thus does not bear any risk. In this particular instance, Medical costs for the e-scooter rider may be claimed through their self-insurance plans.”
e-Scooters – The way future mobility looks like – who should insure them and how?
The UAE has seen the emergence of policies for less and more common policies of eScooter and moped policies. These need to be altered as use becomes widespread, particularly in cities.
“Insurers must commence the delivery of novel insurance products to capture the opportunities in the nascent market. Insurers should not sit back and wait for governments to ensure coverage; rather, they should take the initiative to create and offer innovative policies, plans or control measures that will match the changing patterns, for instance insuring e-scooters or other similar products. This approach fills current coverage gaps and accentuates insures as pace setters in addressing societal changes,” Mistareehi added.
Gautam Datta also mentions that insurance companies seek to develop innovative products provided the actual risk which requires insurance can be fully evaluated. “Currently speaking, considering that there is no law requiring licensing for the e-scooters and mopeds, the insurance penetration in this particular segment remains very low in the UAE,” said he.
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