SEOUL: An Insurtech start-up from South Korea, Carrot General Insurance Corp,. has introduced a pay-per-mile auto insurance specially designed to protect electric mobility and the owners.
(Insurtech refers to the use of technology innovations on an insurance model to make it more efficient.)
The new service, called "Carrot EV Cover," was put together to supplement the recent release of the KIA's EV6 model, the South Korean automaker's first all-electric model embedded with Hyundai Motor Group's own EV-only electric-global modular platform (E-GMP). Starting with the coverage for EV6, Carrot plans to expand product offerings for other electric vehicles soon, the company stated.
Carrot EV Cover is being launched partly as a way to provide electric vehicle owners with an insurance option that is fair and tailored for sustainable mobility, according to a Carrot spokesman.
Due to higher cost to repair the damages than those of a petrol-powered vehicle, insurance companies usually need to account for the added repair costs, thus charging consumers with higher premiums.
Carrot said its cover for electric cars are reasonably priced.
The coverage is packaged around four main unique value propositions in addition to comparable coverage limits for bodily injury and damage liability; 100% replacement of batteries upon accident, comprehensive or collision coverage with guaranteed payout up to 150% of value of the vehicle, limits that cover liability for death, injury and damages occurring while charging the vehicle, and lastly, emergency dispatch and towing service with an extended distance of up to 120km.
Carrot is currently in a series of discussions to further extend the offerings to include the cover for the liabilities exposed from charging the vehicles and third-person injuries.
According to South Korea's Ministry of Transport, there are over 160,000 electric vehicles on the road as of May 2021 and the number is growing steadily.
"In response to the changing landscape and the demand in growth of the electric vehicle across the globe, Carrot is spearheading the way to revolutionise auto insurance and contribute to drive towards eco-friendly society", said Carrot CEO Paul Jung.
"In line with perceptions surrounding the electric vehicles, our team focused the efforts in providing the EV owners with adequate insurance coverages that are smart and efficient."
Carrot was established in 2019 through a joint partnership between Hanwha, SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor Group, Altos Ventures and Stic Investments. It has attracted close to 300,000 customers to its pay-per-mile auto insurance within 2 years of operation and is scaling aggressively for bigger market share.
