Are Electric Bikes on Your Insurance Brand Radar? They Should Be

In a future where city centre access for vehicles is being restricted by tolls like the London ULEZ charge, will the `last mile’ delivery solution become electric cargo bikes?

Maybe so, and one way to protect delivery riders and couriers from the worst of the weather in the UK is by offering enclosed bikes, rather than traditional open electric bicycles. CityQ are now taking pre-orders on their machine, which looks much like the enclosed scooters produced by Benelli and BMW back in the 90s, except there’s no engine in there and the rear of the bike features a mini flatbed cargo space.

Here’s the info from CityQ.

CityQ is an enclosed car-e-bike with space for baggage and up to two passengers. CityQ comes both as a personal car-e-bike with side doors as well as a cargo e-bike. The vehicle provides fully electric pedal assist, with a battery range of 60–100 km.

Solar panels may provide additional range.

CityQ’s on-board computer uses the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect with a cloud-based server, providing smart driving assistance, diagnostics and remote upgrades. A smartphone driving app displays a navigation dashboard, enabling features such as unlocking for rental and ride-sharing. CityQ weighs just 70 kg, and has a load capacity of up to 250 kg.

There’s a big opportunity here for PAYG insurance brands like By Miles, Zego, Getsafe and many more. When commuting by car – even an electric car – becomes too expensive because of access tolls, the electric bike may be the only cost-effective alternative for smelly, overcrowded public transport for many low paid workers.

Then there’s the freelance delivery market, not just for food, but all kinds of Amazon, ebay and other online shopping items. These parcels can be trucked or sent by electric van to local distribution warehouses of course, but for the last mile or two in urban areas, an electric cargo bike makes perfect sense.

Especially if freelance couriers can unlock the bike when they need it, just to get the job done. Not every freelancer lives in a house with a grage to store such a bulky delevery transport machine, some live in apartments. So if you don’t want to own it, just use it for say 3 hours a day doing your side hustle gig, then this makes sense. Especially when you bolt-on PI and TP liability insurance cover via smartphone when on the bike.

The future of mobility insurance – like life – is coming at us pretty fast, as Ferris Bueller noted many years ago.