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Retrofitting a lithium battery
Short answer
Declare them: lithium batteries belong in the proposal with their value,
because their fire behaviour differs from lead; where our electric and hybrid cover applies,
battery and charging station are included.
Lithium-ion batteries are a subject of their own in insurance terms. They belong in the proposal because their fire behaviour differs from lead. That is not an obstacle but a declaration: they can be insured. If you retrofit, tell us afterwards and an endorsement follows, which costs the difference in premium and nothing beyond it.
Our electric and hybrid cover applies where it has been applied for and is shown in the schedule. It includes consequential damage from animal bite or short circuit, up to 10,000 euros in Basis and 20,000 euros from Basis Plus, your own charging station up to 1,500 or 3,000 euros, and the disposal of a damaged battery within a limit set for each tier. Wear, incorrect charging, deep discharge and your own work on the battery are excluded. Disposal is the item owners underestimate: a damaged traction battery is hazardous waste and not every yard is allowed to store it.
The installation is what decides a claim. A home-built pack without a battery management system is not an argument in your favour afterwards, and damage caused by your own work on the battery is excluded. Keep the invoice and the installation record in the boat file; that is half the settlement done before anything happens.
The value has to be right as well. Equipment and fitted technical items are covered where they have been applied for and are documented with a sum insured in the policy schedule. A conversion to lithium is frequently a four-figure investment and it lifts the sum insured noticeably.
Where the electric and hybrid cover applies, your own charging station is included up to 1,500 euros in Basis and 3,000 euros from Basis Plus, and consequential damage from animal bite or short circuit within the limits above. Incorrect charging and deep discharge remain excluded.
Worth remembering
One phone call
declares the new battery
Four figures
is what it usually adds to the value
Doing the first prevents the second from being missing when it matters.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Do I have to declare lithium batteries?
Yes. They belong in the proposal because their fire behaviour differs from lead, and with their value in the sum insured.
Is damage to the battery covered?
Where our electric and hybrid cover has been applied for: consequential damage from animal bite or short circuit, the charging station and the disposal of a damaged battery, each up to a limit set per tier. Wear, incorrect charging and deep discharge are excluded.
What about a home-built pack?
Without a battery management system and without an installation record it becomes a problem after a claim. Have it fitted properly and keep invoice and record on board.
Is charging from shore power covered?
Where the electric and hybrid cover applies, your own charging station is included up to 1,500 euros in Basis and 3,000 euros from Basis Plus. Incorrect charging is excluded.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Retrofitting a lithium battery” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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