Approximately one million privately owned e-scooters are now in circulation across the UK. Their normal, intended use, riding on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, remains a criminal offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988. No mainstream insurance product exists to cover them. After six years of regulatory inaction, the financial consequences are falling squarely on the insurance industry and Britain's insured motorists.

The legal position

A privately owned e-scooter cannot lawfully be ridden on a UK public road, cycle lane or pavement regardless of how carefully it is used. As of 2026, no legislation has been passed to change this. The only lawful public use remains participation in a government-approved rental scheme, where the operator provides insurance directly. Government-backed rental trials launched in 2020 have now been extended to May 2028, with a wider legislative framework for micromobility vehicles still to be tabled.

The insurance gap

Because private e-scooters are illegal to ride on public roads, no mainstream motor insurance product has been developed for them. When an uninsured rider causes serious injury to a third party, the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), funded through a levy on motor insurers, steps in to compensate the victim. That cost is ultimately spread across the premiums of every insured motorist in Britain.

The figures are now significant. The MIB paid out almost £47 million on micromobility claims in 2025 alone, with cumulative compensation costs exceeding £100 million over the period of regulatory uncertainty. A study published in August found that e-scooter riders sustain proportionately more head and internal injuries than cyclists or motorcyclists, meaning claims are not only more frequent, but more severe and costly.

A compounding data problem

The Department for Transport has acknowledged that its road casualty statistics cannot separately identify e-scooter deaths and injuries, a significant obstacle to informed underwriting and reserving. Approximately 15,000 units are sold each year, yet the risk remains effectively invisible in official data. Fire risk adds a further dimension: the London Fire Brigade attended a record number of e-scooter and e-bike fires in 2025, resulting in two fatalities, with implications for property insurers writing urban risks.

Tentative signs of reform

The government has recently committed to creating a new low-speed zero emission vehicles category and has indicated that a consultation on private e-scooter regulations is being considered. Ministers have publicly acknowledged that the present position is unsustainable. However, commitment to a consultation is not enacted legislation, and until a mandatory insurance framework exists, the structural gap remains open.

The bottom line for insurers

The industry should be reviewing motor and property policy wordings for e-scooter exposure, monitoring MIB levy trends, and engaging with the forthcoming consultation on what a workable insurance regime must look like. Britain has allowed a market of one million uninsurable vehicles to develop on its roads. The cost of that failure is accelerating and without legislative intervention, it will continue to be borne by insured motorists.