Luton Airport Fire – Car Insurance Companies Worried?
I’m not going into the details of the Luton airport fire in this article, you can read it about it here, here and here.
What I want to cover is the implications for the car insurance industry and specifically car insurance for EVs.
I am not saying that this fire was caused by an EV. To repeat, I am not saying this fire was caused by an EV.
What I am saying is that the Luton airport fire is a huge wake up call to the car insurance industry and their coverage of EV powered vehicles.
EV Fires
EV fires are extremely hard to fight. And the generally accepted method of dealing with EV fires is to leave them burn. You can read about the problems with EV fires here and here.
You can imagine the problems that “letting it burn” creates for car insurance companies.
Hypothetically speaking, if it turns out that this fire in Luton was caused by an EV and it was impossible to fight, letting it burn could lead to the destruction of potentially thousands of cars, not to mention the parking structure itself.
The insurance company that was covering the instigating vehicle would probably be liable for the damage that was caused, which could run into millions of pounds.
Hypothetically speaking, let’s say the Luton fire was started from some other source, which then ignited an EV, or multiple EVs, which in turn led the fire brigade being unable to fight the fire, who will be on the hook from the damage? A fire that may have been minor could turn into an unfightable fire in the presence of EV vehicles, again, leading to massive destruction that would not have happened otherwise.
Worst Case Scenario
Yes, I’m talking about worse case scenarios here, but nevertheless the scenario is possible. And it’s a scenario insurance companies will probably have to load into insurance premiums for EV vehicles. What affect this will have on premiums is anyone’s guess but it is food for thought.
Will the Luton fire be a wake up call for insurance companies covering EVs? Or are the potential hazards already baked in to the premiums?
