6 August 2024

Are EV batteries the next cladding issue?

| Dione David
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Woman with connector cord standing near e-car in garage

Insurers are keeping a close eye on risks associated with EV batteries. Photo: sofiiashunkina.

As the construction industry continues to grapple with the insurance implications of flammable building cladding, experts are warning of an emerging risk – EV batteries.

The Electric Vehicle Council reported that as of the end of June 2023, the number of EVs sold in Australia was almost three times higher than the same period in 2022, and EVs represented 8.4 per cent of all new cars sold in Australia – a 120 per cent increase compared to 2022.

With the surge in EV sales, allinsure’s Lara Morgan says owners’ corporations and commercial property owners should be aware of the consequences of lithium-ion battery fires.

She expects this will be the next focus for insurers in the near future.

“If a lithium-ion battery catches alight in an apartment basement and, knowing that the fire can’t be put out quickly, aside from property damage there are widespread implications including the toxic fumes that are emitted,” she says.

“Further considerations on whether the complex would have to be evacuated and whether there needs to be temporary accommodation for unit occupants is needed.”

Lara says while there haven’t been significant premium increases yet, insurers are conducting more thorough risk assessments of complexes with portable and permanent EV charging stations to ensure risk mitigations are in place.

Possible considerations include ensuring charging areas are free of combustibles, installing appropriate fire protection and securing a commitment from strata managers to conduct regular compliance checks.

Some insurers are, however, beginning to take a more direct approach by imposing higher fire excesses for complexes with EV batteries.

To prevent catastrophic loss and help keep insurers happy, Lara advises clients to become familiar with the risks themselves.

Lara Morgan of Allinsure

Allinsure’s Lara Morgan says there are ways to help minimise exposure to the risks of EV battery fires. Photo: Daniella Jukic.

Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smartphones, vacuum cleaners, laptops, to scooters and electric vehicles.

“Lithion-ion fires can start for any number of reasons – overheating, incorrect use of charger, damage to the battery if dropped or involved in an accident or even being exposed to high external temperatures,” she says.

“All of these factors can result in the battery failing and potentially causing a fire, and once they start, they’re incredibly hard to put out because they burn at such high temperatures.

“It’s important people don’t just go out and purchase their own chargers without being aware of the risks and the potential implications to insurance and, in the case of strata titled properties, not letting owner’s corporations know. Owning your own charger and not storing or using it correctly could expose you and those around you to those risks.

“Even if your strata title does consider your EV battery, remember that in the event of a fire the strata insurance will only cover the fire damage to the complex itself. It won’t cover your vehicle or contents.”

READ ALSO Basement EV fires – unpacking the real risk to Canberra’s apartment owners

Lara says as living with electric vehicles becomes more popular, associated building regulations will likely evolve, and developers of new complexes will need to comply with additional new fire protection standards.

Noting recent updated building code requirements, which may cause challenges to those implementing the ACT Government’s “Making Your Strata EV Ready” program, it will be more challenging to retrofit older buildings.

“EV technology is still an emerging technology. The uptake indicates that people want to do the right thing by the planet. We just have to ensure we’re thinking of risks associated with these items,” she says.

“Public advice literature currently available fails to address a need to consider the associated increased risk of fire.

“If in doubt, consult your trusted insurance adviser. Allinsure are strata experts, and always available to provide strata managers and owners’ corporations with advice to help navigate these new emerging risks.”

For more information, contact allinsure.

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The insurance industry KNOWS that EVs are less of a fire risk than petrol or diesel cars, yet it has increased premiums by preying on fears around Li-ion battery fires. Most Li-ion battery fires are caused by laptops, cordless tools, toys, phones, cheap e-scooters and ebikes. Not electric cars.
The industry needs to be called out for this fearmongering.
Chris Jones, AEVA.

Capital Retro12:09 pm 17 Jun 24

Correct, Chris but the problem with EVs on fire is the fire is hard to extinguish and if the EV is in a basement carpark of a residential complex the latent contingencies are enormous.

What is a latent contingency when it’s at home?

Capital Retro6:28 pm 17 Jun 24

I could be cynical and say an EV fire at a home (as distinct from a home unit complex) could mean only one family dies whereas at a unit complex many families could die.

Chewy, why are you always looking for the fifth leg on the cat when I make a very common-sense comment?

Your inability to comprehend basic evidence when it’s provided to you and your continued presentation of complete falsities as “common sense” might have something to do with it.

Malcolm Street8:48 am 17 Jun 24

Article makes out it’s about EV batteries implying electric cars, then goes on about the risk from every lithium ion application except electric cars. It’s a beat up.

I just don’t care. In their current form, EVs are just not suitable for my lifestyle. Maybe one day they will be, but until then, I’m just not buying one.

Malcolm Street8:59 am 17 Jun 24

Fine. But they’re already fine for me and many other people.

And that’s great. Enjoy your EV if it suits your needs. Just dont force other people to have something that isn’t suitable for their needs. I don’t think that’s asking a lot.

Who is “forcing” you to buy an EV, Ken M?

I expect you will be able to hang on to your clunker as long as you can find petrol and maybe do your own servicing. There are vintage and veteran cars around today, although you are also “forced” not to buy a steam car or Hispano-Suiza J12 Sport Torpedo by their unavailability in showrooms. I guess something better came along one day.

And the award for “Most asinine nonsense for the day” goes to byline. Taking up quite the collection there mate.

There are too many keyboard warriors who love to spread misinformation about EVs via social media (and here) – if you hear an inflated, sensationalist statement and spread that 100 times, that doesn’t make it fact.

As Mouse states, the great majority of fires are caused by ebikes and scooters due to after-market or cheap battery packs without over-charging protection, increasing the potential of eventual thermal run-away; that, or a seriously damaged battery pack if they’ve had a hard life.

Such fires are rare in EVs (yes, check out the link in Jack D’s post) because they have sophisticated battery management hardware and software, and are encased in a protective structure. Further, when charged in garages, they are trickle charged (unlike plugging them into a supercharger) so the generation of heat in the battery is minimal.

There are just as many keyboard warriors like you & Jack pushing the opposite view.
EV fires are indeed rare but when they happen they can be catastrophic & we really don’t have appropriate plans to deal with them.

Is this an insurance advertisement? Where is the disclaimer?

EV battery fires are extremely rare and much rarer than internal combustion engine vehicles.
From June 2010 to June 2023 there were 393 verified passenger EV battery fires around the world.
As of May 2024 there have been just six EV battery fires in Australia out of more than 180,000 EVs on the road. None of these fires were spontaneous, related to charging or caused by explosions.
Three incidents where EV batteries which caught fire due to an external fire (unrelated to the vehicle), one was related to an arson incident, one by a road collision and one by road debris. 
(https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/submissions/83044/Submission%208%20-%20EV%20FireSafe.pdf).

I have every confidence in the comfort and safety of EV vehicles!

Tom Worthington10:12 am 16 Jun 24

I started to wonder who wrote the “article” when I got near the end It was only then, I started to suspect it was an advertorial. Until then, I just thought it was a well written, but badly researched, article with misinformation which a busy journalist let slip in. At the end I read “REGION MEDIA PARTNER CONTENT”, and realized it was very well written advertorial, design to mislead me.

Normally advertorials come with a warning at the top, but this one only has it at the bottom, after the reader has been tricked into reading it, thinking it an article. I understand Riotact need advertising revenue, and they get a lot more from advertorials than straight ads. But I liked the way Riotact previously mixed the two, but made it clear which were which. If I am fooled by a second such article I will stop reading Riotact.

As for the content, electric cars don’t catch fire any more often that one powered by petrol. If a car catches fire in an apartment basement, the building will need to be evacuated regardless of if it has batteries, fuel, or both. EV fires are difficult to deal with, but just as with petrol fires, firefighters have new procedures for this.

GrumpyGrandpa7:26 pm 15 Jun 24

There was a garage fire today, near where I live and did it go up!

4 fire trucks/ hazmat uniforms etc.

I have no idea what the cause was, but one of the neighbours wondered if was a “Lithium” fire?

There is no doubt that fires caused by Lithium batteries, when they occur, are really serious.

The thought of an EV fire in an apartment basement, scares the daylights out of me.

You say you have no idea what is going on. You say you are scared.

More informative than you might think.

Malcolm Street8:51 am 17 Jun 24

“There was a garage fire today, near where I live and did it go up!

4 fire trucks/ hazmat uniforms etc.

I have no idea what the cause was, but one of the neighbours wondered if was a “Lithium” fire?”

Four trucks, ICE vehicles more likely to likely to go up than an EV by orders of magnitude, no evidence of lithium batteries in use, and you use it to show why you’re scared of lithium fires?

REALLY?

A Nonny Mouse6:04 pm 15 Jun 24

I think the risk from multiple diverse devices being charged inside units is likely to be higher than the risk from electric cars that have better managed batteries.

Malcolm Street8:53 am 17 Jun 24

Exactly, and when you get into the meat of the article it’s predominantly about the risk from lithium ion batteries in non-electric car applications. Which is very real because there’s some seriously dodgy stuff on sale

Insurance premiums are doubled for EV’s as they have a huge cost to repair.
A little plutonium well managed is safe. However put 10kg together in your basement and you’ll have issues. A few EVs might be ok. A basement full is a recipe for disaster.

A Nonny Mouse6:02 pm 15 Jun 24

Comprehensive insurance for my Hyundai EV with NRMA is about the same as it cost for my last fossil car.

@gooterz
“Insurance premiums are doubled for EV’s”
Given your opening is BS not worth reading any further. Do some research for a change.

Capital Retro8:41 am 16 Jun 24

Do you live in an apartment with basement parking?

What rubbish. As Mouse has already said, insurance premiums for EV are much the same as for ICE vehicles, and that’s even confirmed by the insurer in the ad above. The higher cost for repair statement is also rubbish, but admittedly you’d need to go to a repairer experienced with EVs if it’s more than just a little bodywork.

Indeed Capital Retro, I too can compare insurance on a new, leased, expensive vehicle with a privately owned low mileage vehicle, almost certainly older and cheaper.

But you don’t read any of that that, do you. Not when you can trot out a prejudice contrary to experience already listed for our market by local EV owners.

Hmm, an article published in the UK, and based on premium estimates between a Tesla Model X (one of the most expensive Teslas) and a Kia. Gee, I wonder why there’s a difference.

Anyway, it’s true that regardless of what car you drive, it’s always wise to shop around when it’s time to renew Any insurance. I recently found that I could save almost 50% by moving from NRMA to GIO on both my car and house/contents insurance (with similar coverage and excess).

Ah, the link is UK but the story is from Australia. I hadn’t heard of any of those insurance companies in the screen shots before.

Yes, they are the same directly but indirectly they certainly are NOT. If you want to charge your potentially prone to sudden explosive immolation EV in your garage you will shortly pay extra for that privilege with your household insurance The UK, US and several other countries already charge extra house and contents insurance for EV owners because they are a recognised extra insurance risk because they can and do spontaneously explode.

Rob, again, the perpetuation of social media misinformation. There’s already two people in this thread who have stated that there’s little to no difference in car insurance for EVs (compared to a comparatively-priced ICE vehicle). What’s Your real world experience, Rob? Thankfully, insurance companies take data from organisations like EVFireSafe to ascertain “real” risk and not rely on experts on social media.

And btw, my EV insurance is with the same company I have my home insurance with and both premiums are much the same as previous years when I had an ICE vehicle.

Capital Retro10:57 am 17 Jun 24

But byline, facts do not have bias.

Facts need relations, contexts, for meaning. Your bias creates misinformation.

Capital Retro2:12 pm 15 Jun 24

Many regular commenters on this blog have been saying for 2 years what “the experts” are now saying.

And as the cladding problem has been mentioned does anyone know how many buildings in Canberra have had their inflammable cladding removed and replaced?

You realise this is an ad for strata insurance right?

Although yes, many commenters here have been saying what the experts are saying. That EVs have a fire risk that needs to be managed appropriately through controls. That the risks are relatively low.

Other commenters however, have been spouting nonsense about extreme fire risks and high rates of failure which isnt supported by data or any reflection of reality.

Capital Retro11:00 am 17 Jun 24

And what about the cladding problem?

What answer did you get when you asked a relevant Minister or Department, Capital Retro?

The same answer he got when he didn’t ask the question to the government agency responsible last time, preferring to strangely ask it here.

I believe the assessment identified 90 residential buildings that had issues with cladding and have been supported by access to the Government’s schemes for remediation over the last few years.

https://www.act.gov.au/majorprojectscanberra/projects/cladding-program

Maybe CR can find out how many have taken up the offer.

Unfortunately, the ACT government has got too far ahead of the available infrastructure for EVS. I think most apartment owners want to do the right environmental thing but they don’t want to be responsible for burning their apartment complex now. Until technology catches up with the ACT government agenda EV charging stations can only safely be located outside of an apartment complex in open air. An additional problem with older apartment complex are the additional floor loadings placed on suspended garage floors by the extra weight of an EV compared to a similar size motor vehicle. Although the building designers install a safety factor on a floor loading, these floor loadings were not designed for EVs. I also understand that the ACT Fire Brigade will not attend EV fires that are located in below ground basements due to the excessive toxicity of the admitted fumes.

“I think most apartment owners want to do the right environmental thing but they don’t want to be responsible for burning their apartment complex”
Really, Peter H – so how many battery caused EV fires have their been in Australia? Perhaps apartment owners should also be concerned about mobile phone chargers?

Malcolm Street8:59 am 17 Jun 24

“An additional problem with older apartment complex are the additional floor loadings placed on suspended garage floors by the extra weight of an EV compared to a similar size motor vehicle. “

Weight of Ford Ranger, Australia’s top selling vehicle (why???): 1789-2431kg
Weight of Tesla Model Y, Australia’s biggest selling EV: 1,909 to 1,997kg.

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