The battery electric vehicle (BEV) car parc is expanding rapidly. As of March 2026, 22.4% of new cars in the UK were BEVs.
As the BEV car parc expands, questions continue to arise around BEV-specific liability issues. We are regularly receiving enquiries from clients seeking guidance on which policy will respond in circumstances where the charging of the BEV leads to damage – whether that be injuries caused by a slip or trip, or first party impact or fire damage to the vehicle or the home.
A standard answer to the questions raised is usually difficult to give and has unfortunately never (so far at least) been straight forward. We find, that most frequently, our responses start with "it depends".
For each enquiry there are a number of factors to consider:
- Where was the vehicle?
- What does the relevant policy cover?
- Did the incident arise from or was is caused by "use" of the vehicle?
- Is there another policy that may respond?
The Road Traffic Act 1988 ("the RTA") requires that vehicles must have insurance for third-party risks in circumstances where the damage is caused by, or arises out of, the use of a vehicle on a road or other public place. However, motor policies usually do not contain a blanket exclusion for all accidents on private land, so the accident location may only become relevant if there are indemnity issues and the motor insurer is considering whether it has a statutory liability to deal with a third party claim. For most accidents occurring on a private driveway it is therefore likely that the motor policy will cover the vehicle. Where the BEV is charging at home, it could be the household policy that responds, dependant on the wording of that policy.
To consider these issues in a little more detail, we have set out below a few scenarios that have been raised with us.
Examples:
Click the examples below to know more:
1. Tripping incident where BEV charging on the street using charger at commercial premises.
2. Tripping incident where BEV charging overnight on a private driveway.
3. BEV not charging but parked on private driveway catches fire and damages home.
It is increasingly important for all policies to clearly set out exactly what they will cover so there are clear demarcations between household, RTA, EL and PL policies. Our team is available to review your policy wordings with you, to advise on their contents and to identify your potential exposure, should an issue arise.
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