This Nov. 1, 2019, file photo shows participants test riding in an event to promote an electric kickboard sharing service in Hwaseong, 80 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The treatment cost for pedestrians injured due to the fault of electric kickboard users will be paid in advance by the car insurance of the pedestrians or their families.
The Financial Supervisory Service is known to have issued a notice of amendment last month stating that the definition of uninsured automobiles in the standard terms and conditions of car insurance policies would be added personal mobility devices, including electric kickboards.
At present, the insurance products that electric kickboard sharing companies offer are designed mainly to offer compensation for damages caused to users by defects or malfunctions in the electric kickboards being rented.
Among such insurance products, it’s rare for damages caused to others by accidents to be covered, and even if they are, the amount of compensation is usually not commensurate to the injuries or damages suffered.
If the amendment takes effect starting from car insurance contracts that will be signed or renewed next month, pedestrians injured in electric kickboard accidents would be able to receive compensation once they are covered by a car insurance plan with an option covering damages caused by uninsured vehicles.
Even when the injured pedestrians have no such insurance coverage, their treatment cost could be covered by their parents’ or children’s insurance plans with such an option.
After paying the medical expenses in advance, the insurance companies can exercise the right to demand an indemnity from the electric kickboard drivers.
With respect to the amendment of the standard terms and conditions, the non-life insurance companies, however, complained that it’s more like passing on the responsibilities of electric kickboard sellers, sharing companies and users to car insurers and subscribers.
“Despite the amendment, families without a car would still have difficulty covering medical costs when they are involved in accidents with electric kickboards,” an industry official said.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
