Despite having fewer moving parts than its Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterpart, an electric vehicle’s operation is more complex. While both vehicles appear identical from the outside and perform similarly, they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.
An EV breakdown or accident requires a different strategy than one involving an IC vehicle. While diagnosing and repairing a traditional vehicle calls for a combination of hardware and software knowledge in an EV, diagnosing and repairing a traditional vehicle requires relatively more mechanical and electronics knowledge.
While there are insurance policies that cover EVs, they have not been developed specifically with their special characteristics in mind. As part of its future plans, Zuno (formerly Edelweiss General Insurance) is getting ready to roll out what may be India’s first motor insurance policy created specifically for the electric vehicle market.
Shanai Ghosh, MD & CEO, Zuno shares that while electric vehicle are getting insured under motor insurance policies and have add-ons like extended coverage on battery life, motor, etc, the business case is still not very clear. It is expected that Zuno will launch an EV-specific motor insurance policy in Q2 FY2024.
Drive better pay less policy
Zuno claims to be the first company in India to embrace digital adoption and introduce many industry-first features such as – a switch-off policy when the vehicle is not in use, an AI voice bot for automated motor claim registration, on-demand mobile telematics-based insurance policy, pay as-you drive and out-of-network cash advance among others.
Ghosh says being a fintech company it aims to establish a transparency factor not only for its customers but also for the way it functions. Sharing an interesting anecdote, it was revealed that the company’s work-from-anywhere policy sees around 90 percent of its employees opting to work remotely. This not only fosters better connections within the team but also helps creativity flowing, which helps the company introduce new products.
Among the latest product for the motor insurance policy introduced by Zuno is a ‘Drive less, pay less, drive better, pay less’ usage-based policy. How does it work?
Once a customer takes the new policy, he/she will be directed to download a mobile app, which after signing in, will track the user’s driving patterns. Using the smartphone’s gyroscopic and other sensor data, the app will give out a driving score after each drive. This will help the users improve their driving behaviour and motivate them to follow safe driving patterns, which will in turn help reduce the EMI.
Zuno depending on the driving pattern will offer in-app rewards, which can be redeemed towards their premium.
