As electric mobility becomes increasingly established in society, the vehicles that make it possible are evolving at an accelerating pace. This cutting-edge technology industry is advancing alongside the insurance sector, which ensures its efficiency and serves as a catalyst for its growth.
During the MAPFRE International Global Risks Seminar, José María Cancer Aboitiz, General Manager of CESVIMAP, MAPFRE’s R&D center—operating for 20 years “in tandem with and at the service of the business” and now ranked among the top five globally—spoke about the synergy of these two very relevant industries.
Since its inception, the function has evolved and now “aims to be the radar for new developments in the realm of mobility and the associated risks.” The center has focused on the electrification landscape to help MAPFRE offer a unique insurance proposal for this segment. In his opinion, “one must have a deep technological understanding to know what to insure, what services to provide to the insured, how to resolve incidents, etc.”
His approach involves tackling various challenges, the first being a mental one. Although electric vehicles are not a new concept— with the first examples dating back to 1899—they have taken over the debate in recent years. Technology, safety, and sustainability are other important challenges in which CESVIMAP collaborates through testing and training on all types of electric mobility vehicles: cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and scooters.
The knowledge gained has been inserted into insurance solutions. Proof of this is the ‘Cambio’ range for electric vehicles, recognized as the most innovative insurance product in Germany, or ‘MásPatín,’ for electric scooters, among other policies.
Batteries, a key component
Although they’re repairable, recoverable, and recyclable, batteries currently make up such a small portion of the vehicle fleet that they retain a high residual value. However, technology is advancing rapidly. “We have moved from ranges of 200 kilometers to ranges of 600 and even 800 kilometers. They’re increasingly energy-dense, reliable, and robust,” affirms the expert.
This component warrants special attention as it marks the first time in over a century that a single element represents approximately 40% of the vehicle’s total value. For insurance, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of how much the asset will be worth over time. “We were accustomed to applying a single depreciation for the car, but we need to start applying separate depreciation for the chassis and the battery.”
Complications with recharging
The General Manager of CESVIMAP highlighted the risks that may be involved in recharging electric vehicles. “We’ve never arrived at a gas station, dismantled our empty fuel tank, set it aside, and placed a new full tank in our car,” he explained. He also gave the example of motorcycles. “When a fire occurs, questions arise about which insurance policy would cover the claimable event: the insurance on the motorcycle, the battery (if it has separate coverage), or the charging point, among others. It’s often difficult to determine whether the fire originated at the Battery Station or within the battery itself.”
Another challenge is recharging vehicles at home. “At CESVIMAP, the first thing we did was set up a testing bench for electric chargers at our facilities. Now, we have all the historical data on the charging sessions conducted with various models, which we change frequently to assess their power delivery, heat management, performance, and usability,” he asserts.
Working to improve safety
CESVIMAP also engages in other safety-related practices, such as assessing how vehicles react to water—specifically, what gets damaged, what can be repaired, and what needs to be replaced. Additionally, they evaluate whether tow truck assistance can safely enter a flooded garage. The center has conducted fire tests to develop methods and processes for containing, mitigating, or, at minimum, reducing the impact of fire, buying valuable time until the team equipped to extinguish the fire arrives.
Additionally, experts are striving to influence legislative changes affecting various vehicles, drawing on evidence from tests that highlight the real risks and potential damage that electric mobility may pose to users, infrastructure, and neighboring areas.
Environmental challenge
Vehicles written off as total losses are not only a source of material for research. At CESVIMAP’s facilities, many components undergo treatment, decontamination, and verification to give them a second life cycle.
Over two decades in operation, CESVIMAP has successfully decontaminated around 51,000 vehicles, reintroduced over 1.4 million parts into the market, and prevented more than 50,000 tons of CO2 emissions that would have been generated by producing new parts.
Until now, this effort had focused primarily on diesel and gasoline vehicles, but they have since expanded to include hybrid and fully electric vehicle batteries. They assess whether these batteries can be reused, if they retain their storage capacity, or if the critical minerals found inside can be extracted. In this area, CESVIMAP is part of a European consortium of companies, working for nearly two years to develop an automated system for recovering minerals from unusable batteries.
“Ultimately, what we aim to demonstrate is that while we provide innovation as a service and focus on solving today’s insurance challenges, we’re also committed to long-term innovation, with a vision to leave a better tomorrow than the one we have today,” concludes Cancer Aboitiz.
