Auckland and Christchurch have been seeing green lately with the release of Lime’s quick, colourful and controversial e-scooters. With all the talk going on, we thought we’d take a moment to talk about where insurance comes into things while you’re zipping out and about on your bright green chariot.
Our first stop, is of course: safety. I mean, we wouldn’t be an insurance company if we weren’t all about safety! Lime scooters are pretty zippy, and with great speed comes great responsibility. No matter where you’re riding, follow all road rules and keep an eye out for people, cars, bikes and other scooter aficionados around you. We always recommend wearing a helmet – accessorising is key right? Keep speed to a minimum in busy areas, especially if you don’t want to add to the growing tally of Lime-related ACC claims.
In terms of insurance – there’s a part of your contents policy that covers your legal liability if you accidentally damage someone’s property. Imagine if you accidentally lose control and ride into a car – ouch! But you could be held legally liable for the damage to the car - with a contents policy, we would pay up to $1 million to repair or replace the damage to the car, so you’re not out of pocket.
Chris Kiddey, IAG New Zealand's national technical specialist says: "In general, IAG contents policies may provide liability cover, provided that the user meets Lime's terms and conditions and is taking reasonable care to avoid a loss happening." In other words, the personal liability (or should we say limeability) cover through your contents insurance policy will cover you as long as you’re following Lime’s terms and conditions of use.
Chris’s terms and conditions advice also isn’t just for scooters – it’s likely you’ll find some sort of ‘reasonable care’ clause in any insurance policy. This means that you must take care to avoid any potential accidents or damage to your property, or stuff belonging to other people. This includes things like locking your car or house, keeping valuables safe, or not trying to find the max speed of your scooter during rush hour. Otherwise, any claim as a result of these may be declined.
It’s not all doom and gloom – you can have your Lime and ride it too. Have fun, and be safe!
