More and more condominiums now have an electric car charging point in the courtyard or underground garage – in some, the community invests in a shared charging point; in others, individual residents have their own wall charger fitted at their parking space. The charger is good news for the future, but it raises new questions for the insurance: who owns the equipment, what is it worth, and what happens if someone or something is damaged while it is charging? For anyone who answers these questions before installation, the charger will in all likelihood be nothing but a convenience.
- A charging point built as a shared investment can be part of the building's assets; an individual resident's wall charger typically involves the resident's own insurance; in a mixed situation, a written agreement is what matters most.
- The value of the charging system needs to be declared to the insurer, or damage to the equipment may fall outside the cover.
- Among the typical risks, fire and surge damage, along with the question of liability, are at the centre.
Whose charger is it – a shared or an individual investment?
The first question to settle is the same as for any development in a condominium: who owns it. If the general meeting decides to install a shared charging point – typically in the shared underground garage, connected to the shared electrical system – that is part of the building's common assets, so the building's policy is involved. If, on the other hand, a resident has an individual wall charger fitted at their own expense, at their own parking space, that is more the resident's own affair – they typically also arrange the installation permit and the insurance for it themselves. In practice, a mixed situation is also common: individual chargers that draw power from the building's shared electrical backbone. In that case, a written agreement is not a formality: it is worth recording who owns it, who is responsible for maintenance, and who insures the equipment – this is a modern-day version of the common vs. private property question.
Is it included in the sum insured?
The value of the charging system – the cabling, the load-distribution cabinet, the charging posts – is not a negligible item, and if no one tells the insurer after installation, the building's sum insured falls behind reality. That carries two risks: damage to the charger can fall outside the cover, and the building as a whole can slip into underinsurance. The fix is simple: notify the insurer at installation, and increase the sum insured if needed – our article on raising the sum insured mid-term shows how.
What kinds of damage should you expect?
Electric charging has two typical risk points: fire and power surges. Because of the higher current demand, an older building's electrical system can come under strain, so it is worth having an expert assess beforehand whether the system can take the load. The other layer is liability: if a vehicle belonging to someone else is damaged while charging, or someone is injured by the cabling, that is a liability question, and it matters who operates the equipment. An important exclusion is that damage arising from faulty installation is typically not covered by the property insurance – here, the contractor's warranty and liability form the other line of defence. It is also worth thinking through whether the charger will be used only by residents or occasionally by guests too: the wider the circle of users, the more it pays to clarify, in writing and in advance, the question of liability and any access arrangements.
Good practice for the building and the resident
For a shared charger: a general meeting decision and a documented handover, declaring the value of the system, then maintaining that value at every renewal – the renewal routine provides the framework for this. For an individual charger: the resident agrees the terms of installation with the property manager in advance – the load, the location, the question of liability – and checks with their own insurer how the charger fits into their home insurance. In both cases, the same is true: the charger is a good development only when its risk side has also been thought through.
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