Law firm wary of cover for eBikes

A LEADING law firm has sent a stern warning to mobility innovator Neuron, suggesting its current level of insurance isn’t appropriate for its latest scooter expansion.

Maurice Blackburn regional office leader Amy Williams said the expansion of the eScooter and eBike program needed to be met with the appropriate levels of insurance.

“The key thing is as the trial expands and goes forward, we’re concerned about the lack of insurance coverage for people who are injured, either by riding or people who are injured by one of the scooters,” she said.

“The way we read it … people who are hit at speed through no fault of their own and may be out of the workforce for many months, they don’t have any pathway forward in terms of (physical) recovery and financial recovery.”

Ms Williams said while her firm hadn’t received any claims, it was important to address these issues while they could, before it became a problem.

“We want to get on the front foot and make sure if people are injured they do have a way of looking after themselves and their families.

“Our reading is if it’s the fault of Neuron, if there’s a faulty scooter, that’s the only situation where the insurance would cover you.”

An upgrade could see an increase in the fee for eScooter rides, but Ms Williams said it would be worthwhile, given how successful the relatively low-cost scooters had been.

Neuron Mobility regional manager Richard Hannah said the company was more than comfortable with its existing level of insurance.

“In terms of our scooters and bikes we hold all insurance as required by law, including public liability insurance and other respective insurance, and there’s no differences with the bikes, they’re all covered by the same insurance,” he said.

“We have more insurance than what’s required by law in all the states and territories that we operate in, and we’re very comfortable with the level we have currently.

“We take safety extremely seriously at Neuron, it sits at the heart of everything we do. We have a thorough incident reporting system in place.”