India’s electric mobility revolution is moving from promise to reality, with EV sales recording strong growth across segments. As adoption accelerates, insurers must rethink traditional motor cover to address battery risks, charging infrastructure, specialised repairs, fleet downtime and emerging technology exposures. The next phase of India’s EV journey will require insurance solutions designed not just for vehicles, but for the entire electric mobility ecosystem.
Birendra Mohanty, Chief Business Officer, Zurich Kotak General Insurance
In the last few years, the conversation around electric vehicles (EVs) in India has quickly moved from whether to how soon can EVs become the preferred vehicles for
transport. India’s EV transition is at a pivotal stage, offering strong long-term promise.
Customer preferences are evolving towards more sustainable transport options like electric mobility, which is reshaping the automobile market dynamics.
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA)’s FY’26 and March’26 Vehicle Retail Data Release shows that, EV retail volumes reached 24.52 lakh units in FY’26, marking a robust 24.63% year-on-year growth, signaling that India’s mobility transition is no longer incremental but firmly underway across segments.
This data highlights that India’s transition to cleaner mobility is structurally strengthening, supported by electrification momentum. For those of us in insurance,structural shifts are precisely when our contribution as insurers can make a significant difference.
Insurance is also evolving with EV adoption as the industry tackles risks unique to electric mobility. Customers now expect protection that reflects the realities of EV ownership – beyond traditional motor cover – such as the high-value components like the battery, electric motor and charging equipment, as well as EV-specific risks such as charging-related electrical damage, water ingress and specialized repair requirements.
These are not simply additional features; they are becoming essential elements of insurance that give customers greater confidence as they make the transition to electric mobility.The battery changes everything — and not just the repair bill One of the biggest and most critical touchpoints when it comes to EVs is the battery.
Not because it is unfamiliar territory, but because it fundamentally re-orders the cost and complexity of a claim.
In a conventional vehicle, a moderate collision typically involves panel work, or a fender replacement, and occasionally some mechanical repair.
In an EV, that same collision can trigger a very different sequence — battery diagnostics, sensor checks, potential replacement of high-voltage components. The battery is not just the most expensive part of the vehicle; it is the part around which every other risk calculation has to be rebuilt.
Battery fires and thermal runaway events have understandably received public attention. The EV battery has established that these vehicles are not simply internal combustion vehicles with a different powertrain — they are a different risk category and need to be insured as one.
What this means practically is that claim costs for EVs, particularly in cases involving battery damage, tend to be materially higher and repair timelines longer than for equivalent conventional vehicles. Add to this the uneven availability of specialised repair infrastructure — present and maturing in major cities while still developing in smaller markets.
Clearly, a different set of underwriting and claims considerations must be created for EV vehicles.
Charging infrastructure: India had close to 29,000 operational public EV charging stations as of April 2025 reveals Ministry of Power / Bureau of Energy Efficiency. While this number still appears inadequate, government-led infrastructure programs are expected to drive substantial growth in the coming years.
This expansion, though welcome, introduces a new category of risk exposure that conventional motor insurance was never designed to address. Owning an EV comes
with additional responsibilities, including the maintenance of private charging equipment and related units.
Encouragingly, standard EV insurance policies are evolving to include coverage for such equipment, offering added protection and peace of mind to owners. However, the insurance frameworks that will serve the EV market most effectively are those that recognize charging infrastructure as a distinct risk category—one that requires its own policy language, liability structures, and claims protocols.
For instance, a car meets with severe damages while being charged at a public charging station. Does the liability rest with the infrastructure operator, the equipment manufacturer, the property owner, or the power distributor?
Similarly, can the insurer hold the building management, the electrical contractor, or the homeowner responsible for damage to a vehicle caused by a home charging unit.
Can a fleet operator who incurs heavy losses when his charging hub goes offline due to a grid failure or a cyber incident claim the damage from his insurer despite zero physical damage?
These are questions that the industry, regulators, and infrastructure operators need to find answers for.
Fleet operators and the commercial risk dimension Individual EV ownership and commercial EV operations are not the same risk problem,and they should not be treated as such.
For a logistics company running several hundred electric vehicles, or a last-mile delivery platform with an electrified fleet, downtime is not an inconvenience — it is a direct revenue loss with potential contractual implications. Every hour a vehicle is off the road has a cost that does not appear in a standard motor insurance policy.
Business interruption cover, charging network dependency, fleet-level telematics integration — these are the conversations that commercial fleet operators are increasingly having with their insurers, and rightly so.
Where technology becomes an asset
There is a less-discussed dimension to EV insurance that deserves more attention: the data opportunity. Connected vehicles generate a continuous stream of information
battery health, charging behaviour, driving patterns, diagnostics. For an insurer with the capability to use that data responsibly and with appropriate consent, it represents a meaningful improvement in risk visibility.
Better data leads to more comprehensive underwriting. It also enables a shift from purely reactive claims management toward proactive risk intervention — identifying
potential issues before they become losses. This is not a distant possibility; it is a direction the industry is actively moving in.
The confidence equation The exposure map for the broader EV ecosystem is clearly varied with different players having varied challenges. Battery manufacturers carry product liability and recall risk.
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are navigating warranty obligations in a segment where failure modes are still being understood. Charging network operators
face infrastructure liability, cyber risk, and operational disruption exposures.
As an insurance leader, we know that evolving customer needs demand more than just updates to current plans. India’s journey towards electric vehicles gives us an excellent chance to create specialised insurance policies that address the unique risks involved.
From protecting batteries and charging networks to supporting fleet operators, ensuring OEM accountability, and boosting consumer confidence—everything must work
together under one framework.
By doing this, we stay committed to innovation, offering support as the industry evolves, and making EVs a regular sight on Indian roads.