According to official data, the Chinese insurance industry insured a total of 31.05 million new energy vehicles in 2024, with a total loss of 5.7 billion RMB, showing a continuous loss trend. Factors such as high maintenance costs and high accident rates are the main reasons for the high claims ratio in the Chinese insurance industry.
On January 24, the China Association of Actuaries and China Bank Insurance Information Technology Management Co., Ltd. (referred to as China Bank Insurance Information) released information on claims related to China’s new energy vehicle insurance in 2024.
The information shows that in 2024, the Chinese insurance industry insured 31.05 million new energy vehicles, with premium income of 140.9 billion RMB, providing risk coverage of 10.6 trillion RMB, with a total loss of 5.7 billion RMB, showing a continuous loss.
The insurance industry insured a total of 2,795 vehicle models, with 137 high claims ratio vehicle models exceeding 100% (not yet considering the daily operational management expenses of property insurance companies).
Officials from the China Association of Actuaries and China Bank Insurance Information stated that there are four main reasons for the high claims ratio of new energy vehicles. One reason is the high maintenance costs. New energy vehicles have a high level of intelligence and integration, often requiring complete repairs and replacements when smart devices and components are partially damaged, leading to insufficient consideration of repair economics. Most new energy vehicle and power battery companies adopt authorized repair models, with relatively closed repair systems between different companies, low socialization levels, and high prices for spare parts and repair hours.
Additionally, high accident rates and mismatches between some insurance prices and vehicle usage patterns are also contributing factors. Some insurance prices do not match the vehicle risks, which is also a major reason for the high claims ratio of new energy vehicles.