In 2025, premium income reached 190 billion yuan, still losing 5.6 billion yuan; new energy vehicle insurance remains in a loss-making dilemma.

This newspaper (chinatimes.net.cn) reporter Yu Jianping and intern Tian Ye Beijing reports

On March 31, 2026, the China Actuaries Association and China Bank Insurance Information Technology Management Co., Ltd. jointly released authoritative operational data for new energy vehicle insurance in 2025.

Data shows that in 2025, China’s insurance industry underwrote 43.58 million new energy vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 40.1%, with premium income rising to 190 billion yuan, providing risk coverage amounting to 159 trillion yuan. However, the industry as a whole still shows underwriting losses, with a total loss of 5.6 billion yuan for the year, a decrease of 1.59M yuan compared to 2024’s loss of 5.7 billion yuan, and the combined cost ratio decreased by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year.

Industry insiders believe that, against the backdrop of the continuous rapid penetration of the new energy vehicle industry and the expanding market size of auto insurance, while new energy vehicle insurance has achieved both coverage and premium scale growth, it still cannot escape the dilemma of underwriting losses, becoming a core operational issue throughout the entire property insurance industry.

Losses amid high growth

Looking at core operational data, the 2025 new energy vehicle insurance market saw a significant leap in underwriting volume. The total number of new energy vehicles underwritten was 43.58 million, including 41.81 million buses and 1.77 million trucks, an increase of 12.48 million from 31.05 million in 2024, a growth rate of 40.1%.

In terms of premium income, it grew from 140.9 billion yuan in 2024 to 190 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of approximately 33.8%, with the growth rate far surpassing that of traditional fuel vehicle insurance, and its proportion in the overall auto insurance premium pool continuing to rise.

Regarding losses, the underwriting loss of 5.6 billion yuan remains a reality for the industry, but it has decreased by 100M yuan from 2024’s 5.7 billion yuan, a reduction of about 1.75%. Meanwhile, the combined cost ratio decreased by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, reflecting improvements in cost control, risk screening, and operational refinement in the insurance sector’s new energy vehicle insurance business.

From the vehicle structure perspective, new energy buses still dominate the market, accounting for over 96%, with trucks making up about 4%. However, in terms of risk and loss distribution, trucks and commercial passenger vehicles have become high-risk concentrated areas.

Data shows that in 2025, the total number of new energy vehicle series in the industry reached 429, with 143 series having a loss ratio exceeding 100%, an increase of 6 from 2024. Among these 143 high-loss series, 106 are buses and 37 are trucks, with trucks representing a much higher proportion of high-loss series relative to their underwriting volume.

Specifically, 47 series have a loss ratio between 100% and 110%, including 46 buses and 1 truck. There are 36 series with a loss ratio between 110% and 120%, including 35 buses and 1 truck. Between 120% and 130%, there are 17 series, with 9 buses and 8 trucks. Between 130% and 140%, there are 12 series, with 4 buses and 5 trucks. Those with a loss ratio above 150% total 22, only 3 of which are buses, the remaining 19 are trucks.

This data clearly indicates that the overall risk level of new energy trucks is much higher than that of buses, and is one of the main sources of industry losses.

At the same time, in the bus sector, many vehicles used for ride-hailing, carpooling, and other commercial purposes have also become high-loss hotspots. These vehicles are essentially high-intensity commercial vehicles, but most are insured as private cars, with premiums far lower than commercial insurance. However, their average daily mileage exceeds 200 km—five times that of typical private cars at 40 km/day—and their accident rate is three times higher, directly raising the overall claim levels for these series.

A manager from a leading insurance company told the Huaxia Times: “Among the 143 high-loss series in 2025, over 30% are related to commercial operations, making them an unavoidable risk point for the insurance industry, so losses are within expectations.”

It is also noteworthy that behind the industry’s overall loss of 5.6 billion yuan, there is also a reflection of the social responsibility borne by the insurance industry. Currently, insurance companies have proactively underwritten a large number of high-risk commercial trucks and ride-hailing vehicles, providing real protection for truck drivers and ride-hailing drivers, and offering per-vehicle premium subsidies of several thousand yuan for these high-risk vehicles.

A relevant person from an insurance company told Huaxia Times: “Our small and medium-sized insurers, due to limited business volume, insufficient data reserves, and weaker risk control capabilities, face relatively larger losses. Although we haven’t received formal notices yet, the company is already considering strategies to scale back new energy vehicle insurance business.”

Root causes of losses in new energy vehicle insurance

New energy vehicle insurance has experienced consecutive years of underwriting losses, with 2024 losing 5.7 billion yuan and 2025 losing 5.6 billion yuan. This situation is not caused by a single factor but results from multiple overlapping factors, including the technological characteristics of new energy vehicles, usage patterns, repair systems, insurance pricing, and industry risk control.

Industry insiders believe that, from the core industry contradictions, three major issues—high claim frequency, high repair costs, and insufficient risk pricing—constitute the fundamental causes of losses in new energy vehicle insurance.

Zhang Daoming, member of the Party Committee of PICC and Secretary of PICC Property & Casualty, explicitly pointed out at the 2025 performance release that the claim rate of new energy vehicles is significantly higher than that of fuel vehicles, which is the primary challenge facing the industry. Industry data shows that the overall claim rate for new energy vehicles is about 30%, 15%–70% higher than that of fuel vehicles, with differences among various models.

A staff member responsible for on-site accidents at an insurance company told Huaxia Times: “The main reasons for the higher claim rate of new energy vehicles are several: first, the rapid acceleration of electric vehicles. second, some drivers over-relying on assisted driving features leading to accidents. third, the issue of mixed insurance for commercial and private use vehicles—many ride-hailing and rental cars are insured as private cars, but they are used intensively, resulting in high claim rates. Moreover, these vehicles are numerous, and we receive almost daily claims reports for ride-hailing vehicles.”

It is worth noting that the repair costs after accidents for new energy vehicles are higher than those for fuel vehicles, which is a direct cause of excessive claim ratios. The core issues lie in batteries, intelligent components, and vehicle body structures.

Zhang Xiaolei, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Actuaries Association, publicly stated that the average risk cost per vehicle for new energy vehicle insurance is 2.2 times that of fuel vehicles, but premiums are only 1.7 times higher, meaning premium income cannot cover the corresponding risk costs.

Specifically, the battery pack, as a core component of new energy vehicles, accounts for 30%–50% of the vehicle’s cost, and is highly sensitive to collisions, bottoming out, and water immersion. Minor damages can lead to complete replacement of the pack, with repair costs accounting for over 40% of total accident losses.

Second, the cost of intelligent components is high. Lidar, high-definition cameras, domain controllers, and other smart accessories often cost over ten thousand yuan each, and minor scratches can damage lidar sensors.

Furthermore, the widespread adoption of integrated casting technology has greatly increased the difficulty of repairing new energy vehicle bodies. Traditional sheet metal repairs are often ineffective, and localized damage usually requires replacing entire body assemblies, significantly increasing repair costs.

Additionally, most new energy vehicle manufacturers and power battery companies adopt authorized repair models, making it difficult for third-party repair shops to access original parts, repair techniques, and equipment licenses. This socialized repair channel is insufficient, leading to most repairs returning to authorized 4S shops after an accident. These shops generally charge high prices for parts and labor, and some automakers require core parts to be replaced rather than repaired, further increasing the average claim cost.

Automotive industry analyst Zhai Qiang believes: “The losses in new energy vehicle insurance are a phased phenomenon during the industry’s early development stage. As technology matures, repair systems become more socialized, and insurers’ data accumulation and pricing capabilities improve, the overall cost ratio is expected to continue to improve. However, in the short term, under the pressures of high claim rates and high repair costs, the underwriting loss situation will persist, and it will take time for the industry to turn profitable overall.”

Editor: Li Yan’an Chief Editor: Yu Jianping