Micromobility faces mounting insurance pressures

Insurance is emerging as a critical constraint on micromobility growth, with rising premiums and fragmented regulation reshaping the economics of shared bikes and scooters across the US, Europe and the UK.

New insights from a Micromobility Industries podcast show how far the market has shifted since 2019, when insurance was estimated at around US$0.05 per ride. Today, large operators are paying closer to 10 cents, while smaller players face costs of up to 30 cents per trip, significantly compressing margins.

The change reflects a fundamental reset in how insurers understand risk.

“Revenue is not a great indicator of exposure when it comes to micromobility because the way rides are priced and the user interface operates is very different from selling a product,” said Brandon Schuh, Senior Vice President and Head of Specialty Insurance at Christensen Group Insurance. “Many of those early policies were based on revenue, and they were absolutely destroyed when it came to claims.”

Early policies were not only mispriced but poorly structured, encouraging frequent claims through low deductibles. The market has since shifted to mileage, and time-based pricing, alongside much higher deductibles to ensure operators retain more risk.

“It wasn’t necessarily that pricing was poor on those early policies,” Schuh said. “It was really the plan design or the insurance structure that was not in sync with the actual exposure. You want operators to take on some level of risk themselves, and you want those nuisance-level claims to be handled on the balance sheet rather than through the insurance policy.”

While underwriting has matured, regional regulation is creating an uneven landscape. In Europe and the UK, fragmented and often restrictive rules are limiting insurer participation and raising costs.

“There are many draconian requirements in Europe right now, and they are not interlocking,” he added. “There is no fluidity in who is doing what and where. The EU as a bloc can be very different depending on the country.”

The UK stands out due to its requirement for unlimited third-party liability cover for scooters, which significantly constrains the market.

“That makes capacity for UK insurance almost non-existent. When you combine that with an unlimited liability requirement, there are very few carriers willing to take on that level of aggregated risk,” he said.

City procurement frameworks are adding further pressure, with insurance requirements often disconnected from market realities and transferring liability onto operators.

“Cities often want operators to take on risks that they have no control over,” he said. “That is difficult for insurers to cover and even harder for operators to absorb.”

At the same time, broader trends such as rising legal costs are pushing premiums higher across the insurance market.

“Social inflation means the value of a claim is increasing far beyond standard inflation. Jury awards are rising at six to 10 percent year on year,” he said.

Despite these pressures, improved safety data and technologies such as autonomy could reduce long-term risk and costs. Yet, insurance remains a key barrier to scaling micromobility services globally.

“I guarantee you every one of these insurance companies would much rather make more money on the bottom line than more money on the top line,” Schuh concluded.

Main image: Artem Varnitsin | Dreamstime.com