Insurance companies are actively exploring the "separation of car and electricity" model for auto insurance

Staff Reporter Ling Cuihua

Recently, under policy guidance and efforts from insurance companies, the exploration of the “vehicle-battery separation” model for auto insurance (hereinafter referred to as “‘vehicle-battery separation’ model auto insurance”) has accelerated.

Industry insiders believe that in specific scenarios, the “vehicle-battery separation” model auto insurance can help reduce the purchase and insurance costs for new energy vehicle consumers. However, this model also demands higher capabilities from insurers in risk identification, pricing, and claims processing. Moving from pilot programs to full-scale promotion still requires time. In the future, the new energy vehicle insurance market may feature a dual pattern of “integrated vehicle and battery” and “separated vehicle and battery” models.

Significant reduction in premiums

The core of the “vehicle-battery separation” model is to separate ownership and usage rights of the new energy vehicle and its battery. Consumers can lease batteries, use battery swapping services, and have the management and maintenance of batteries handled by professional institutions, retaining ownership of the vehicle body and the right to use the battery.

Based on this, the “vehicle-battery separation” auto insurance splits coverage responsibilities: insurance for the vehicle body remains consistent with traditional fuel vehicle damage insurance, while the battery is insured by the supplier to cover risks such as battery degradation and damage.

Relevant innovations have received clear policy support. Early last year, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other four departments issued the “Guiding Opinions on Deepening Reform, Strengthening Supervision, and Promoting High-Quality Development of New Energy Vehicle Insurance,” which proposed to innovate and optimize the supply of new energy vehicle insurance. They also encouraged research and exploration of “vehicle-battery separation” auto insurance products to provide scientific and reasonable insurance protection for related new energy vehicles.

At the local level, efforts are also accelerating. The Shenzhen Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau and three other departments recently issued the “Action Plan for Insurance Industry Supporting Technological Innovation and Industrial Development (2026-2028),” which explicitly proposes exploring “vehicle-battery separation” auto insurance products in specific scenarios such as urban transportation.

Currently, there are already large-scale practical cases of “vehicle-battery separation” auto insurance. For example, Chongqing Qiantu Logistics recently implemented the first batch of 10 new energy trucks with this model. It is reported that compared to traditional procurement methods, this approach reduces initial investment costs by 30% to 50%, and insurance premiums are also reduced by about 30%.

Long Ge, Deputy Director of the Innovation and Risk Management Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics, told Securities Daily that “vehicle-battery separation” auto insurance separates the risks of batteries from the vehicle body, allowing for precise risk matching. This can help alleviate the burden on vehicle owners, and pilot practices have already shown a decrease in premiums. The “vehicle-battery separation” model is expected to become an important way to address pain points in new energy vehicle insurance.

Some property insurance companies have increased research efforts into “vehicle-battery separation” auto insurance. For example, recently, Sunshine Insurance’s Shenzhen branch established a special team for new energy vehicles to conduct forward-looking research on this model; China United Property Insurance Co., Ltd. Shenzhen branch has also set up a related research group.

A person in charge of auto insurance at a property insurance company told Securities Daily that since the lifespan of a vehicle and its power battery differ, the “vehicle-battery separation” model auto insurance is expected to solve this problem by accurately pricing and categorizing risks for the vehicle body and the battery, which has high potential for exploration and promotion.

First Deployment in Operational Fields

Wang Hao, founder and CEO of Copola Automotive Consulting Services (Qingdao) Co., Ltd., told Securities Daily that some new energy vehicle companies have early on launched flexible ownership options for vehicle and battery, which can be leased or sold separately, and operate with insurance coverage for both. For ride-hailing, logistics, and other operational enterprises, the initial investment is low, and battery swapping is efficient, giving the “vehicle-battery separation” model a significant cost advantage.

The aforementioned property insurance company executive believes that under the “vehicle-battery separation” model, batteries are centrally, professionally, and scientifically maintained at swapping stations, which helps extend battery life and maximize resource utilization and savings. In the future, this insurance model is expected to be first widely implemented in ride-hailing, logistics, and public transportation vehicles.

Additionally, industry insiders believe that for insurers, the “vehicle-battery separation” model also presents some challenges. Long Ge pointed out that the key difficulty lies in the frequent circulation of batteries, which makes it hard to track their health status and responsibilities in real-time, posing challenges for risk assessment, precise pricing, and accident liability determination. Meanwhile, rapid technological iteration and dispersed data on batteries require complex multi-party coordination for damage assessment and claims, and the long-term sustainable profitability of this model remains to be tested by the market.

According to industry opinions, the future of the new energy vehicle insurance market will not simply move toward a single model. Instead, “integrated vehicle and battery” insurance and “separated vehicle and battery” insurance will coexist and develop in a complementary manner. The former is suitable for mainstream private car markets, while the latter focuses on professional scenarios such as fleet operations, jointly forming a multi-layered protection system.