Do You Need Electric Scooter Insurance? I Checked All 50 States and Tried to Buy It

Do Electric Scooters Require Insurance in the United States?

First, the good news: The vast majority of people riding street-legal electric scooters in the United States aren't required to carry liability insurance.

When you think about it, this makes sense. We've all been riding bicycles since we were kids, and how many of us have ever considered buying liability insurance for that?

But for some reason, when you add an electric motor it feels a little different, even if you're traveling at the same speed as you would be on a bike.

But do you need it in the first place? First, let’s find out if it’s required.

I researched the laws in all 50 states plus Washington, DC, to see if any of them require liability coverage for privately owned, stand-up electric scooters.

Listing them one by one would be really boring, and take too long to read, so what I’ve done is grouped them into five categories.

34 States Plus Washington, DC: Insurance Not Required

In 34 states and Washington, DC, the rules recognize ordinary electric scooters as a distinct vehicle category and provide lots of specifics about how fast they can go, where you can ride them and who can ride them. They also make it pretty clear that as long as your scooter meets the state's definition of an e-scooter dedicated vehicle liability insurance is not required.

That's 35 out of 51 jurisdictions right off the bat.

Idaho and New Hampshire: No Insurance Requirement Identified

Neither state has a particularly clear, modern legal definition for stand-up electric scooters. But the closest applicable vehicle categories like mopeds don't require insurance, so the way I read it those states join the insurance-not-required list.

That brings us to 37 out of 51 jurisdictions, including DC.

12 States where The Laws Aren't Even Clear on defining e-scooters.

These 12 states either don't clearly define privately owned stand-up electric scooters or fall back on older vehicle definitions written for things like mopeds, motorcycles, and seated motor scooters.

Louisiana is a great example. It recognizes low-speed electric scooters in its laws, but its specific definition applies to rental scooters and completely ignores the existence of privately owned electric scooters.

This doesn't automatically make privately owned electric scooters illegal or even mean that they require insurance. It means the law hasn't completely caught up with what people are riding yet.

In these 12 states, I couldn't identify an explicit liability insurance requirement for ordinary stand-up electric scooters. But the laws also don't clearly rule one out.

However, it’s good to remember that the general rule in the USA is that the law doesn’t explicitly say you can’t do something… then you can generally do it. This is the zone we land in for riding e-scooters without insurance in these states.

North Carolina: The Closest Thing to an Insurance Requirement

North Carolina is an interesting case.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation acknowledges electric scooters exist but goes on to admit that they aren't currently defined by state law.

Similarly to Idaho and New Hampshire, in North Carolina an electric scooter could potentially fall into another motor vehicle category, such as a moped. But unlike Idaho and New Hampshire, North Carolina requires liability insurance for mopeds.

So one could say that insurance, and possibly registration are implied for e-scooters, but a quick check in with local riders says “absolutely not”. Out on the street they’re riding as usual. In fact one of the better known hyper-scooter riders in the USA has a YouTube channel called “North Carolina PEV Riders”. His channel regularly posts videos of rides on his collection of the world’s fastest hyper-scooters ranging from a Dualtron X, to an Apex (formerly Rion), and an EMOVE Roadster.

Side note: The EMOVE Roadster is the fastest electric scooter ever tested by Electric Scooter Guide. I officially recorded a two-direction top speed of 72.1 mph.

So, while North Carolina remains the most up-in-the-air in terms of the written requirements, I’ve spent hours asking around and couldn't find evidence of any ordinary scooter riders being instructed to register or insure their scooters by law enforcement officers in North Carolina. But if you live there and have had a different experience, let me know in the comments section of the e-scooter insurance YouTube video. I check comments there all the time.

Pennsylvania: A Different Problem Entirely

Pennsylvania doesn't really make it to the starting line of this discussion because the problem comes one step earlier.

According to PennDOT, ordinary electric scooters aren't legal to operate on public roadways. Not. Legal. Weird right? Because, if you’re part of the e-scooter community on-line you already know people who live there and ride e-scooters daily.

So technically, the whole scooters-are-illegal thing makes the liability insurance question irrelevant. They can’t require you to carry insurance on something that you aren’t “allowed” to ride in the first place.

Of course, what the law says and what happens in the real world aren't always the same thing, and this is quickly becoming one of the themes of this blog post. Plenty of Pennsylvania riders report using their scooters regularly without problems, although enforcement varies by location. I have heard of isolated cases of people being hassled for e-scooter riding in PA, but it seems to be limited to only certain towns who have made it their pet project to enforce. So local information is key here. If you live in PA, ask around before picking up a scooter. The vast vast majority of people I’ve heard from, most of them in Philadelphia, have told me they ride without a care.

So, How Many States Actually Require Electric Scooter Insurance?

Of all 50 states and Washington, DC, I couldn't find a single jurisdiction that explicitly requires liability insurance for every otherwise-legal, ordinary stand-up electric scooter.

But there's an important catch.

What About Faster Electric Scooters?

Everything we've discussed so far assumes your scooter meets the state's legal definition of an electric scooter.

States have different maximum speeds, power limits, weight limits, and other requirements.

Once a scooter exceeds those limits, it may stop qualifying as an electric scooter under that state's laws.

It could potentially be classified as a moped, motor-driven cycle, motorcycle, or simply a vehicle that isn't legal for public-road use.

Those other vehicle categories can have insurance and registration requirements of their own.

This distinction is particularly important for high-performance scooters capable of 25, 30, or even 40 mph.

Enforcement is another matter, and honestly it’s what you experience out there on the road that really counts.

Unlike e-bikes, where pedals provide an obvious visual distinction from electric motorcycles, there's no easy way to tell a high-speed stand-up scooter from a low-speed scooter just by looking at it.

In practice, what we hear over and over all across the USA is that riders report local police have better things to do than try to figure out exactly what e-scooter you’re riding and how fast it goes. Local authorities are far more concerned with whether your riding looks dangerous to you or others around you. Pro tip: Wearing proper gear is a great signal to them that you probably know what you’re doing. Wheelies without a helmet = much more likely to get pulled over than if you’re fully geared up and riding somewhere between the technical scooter-speed-limit and the speed limit for cars.

Scooter regulations are evolving quickly, and while I don’t think we need to be so worried about it that we stop enjoying our scooters, it’s definitely a subject that deserves our attention.

Three recent examples of regions with major changes are New York City, Nassau County, and New Jersey.

If you live in the New York area, you’ve probably heard that the city of New York has issued a moratorium on manufacturers shipping e-scooters faster than 20 mph into the city and are backing it up by threatening to sue the manufacturers. Major scooter companies like Segway, Apollo and of course VMAX are complying with these rules by ceasing shipment of >20mph e-scooters to NYC.

When the NYC rule suddenly came into effect, we heard from riders who spend time in NYC but also spend time in other places who needed a way to receive faster e-scooters for use in places where they are legal to ride. For riders who find themselves in that situation we offer NJ delivery. You can also read our article about how VMAX New Jersey pickup works, for customers looking for high-performance scooters outside NYC.

What If You Want to Buy Electric Scooter Insurance Anyway? Can I get it?

As we’ve established, the states by all practical interpretations don't require liability insurance for ordinary electric scooters.

But what if you want it anyway?

Whether you're riding a bicycle or an electric scooter, you can still cause an accident. You could hit a pedestrian, scratch someone's car, or damage property, and the right thing to do in those situations is take responsibility.

So, I tried to buy e-scooter insurance. Search engines told me it would be simple, and gave me examples of companies who offer insurance. Two different AI accounts I subscribe to told me the same thing. No problem.

They were wrong.

I Called Insurance Company After Insurance Company

When I actually started making calls, I kept getting the same answer.

No.

Here's who I contacted:

I contacted brokers who specialize in micromobility. These are companies that understand the industry and arrange insurance for large scooter fleets and manufacturers.

Even they couldn't find me an individual liability policy. But stay tuned to MFE because they say they’re looking into offering an e-scooter product.

A Promising Lead That Went Nowhere

The absolute best lead I found in my research was a blog post from my friends at Freshly Charged. (They have a great YouTube channel, by the way). Their post from three years ago reported that a company called Stable Care Micromobility offered electric scooter theft insurance… at the time. If Freshly Charged says something, you can generally trust it.

So, after this much failure, I was excited about a verified source, even though theft insurance wasn't even what I started out looking for. But guess what? when I visited Stable Care's website, it was gone. I’ve reached out to both founders of Stable Care and as of the time this blog post was published I haven’t received a response.

Insurance Companies Will Cover Almost Anything Else

Here's the part that really surprised me.

Insurance companies offer coverage for motorcycles, mopeds, ATVs, golf carts, recreational vehicles, personal watercraft, even exotic pets! During my call toProgressive, they even offered me insurance for the original two-wheeled, self-balancing Segway personal transporter. But a conventional stand-up electric scooter? No luck, at least for me here in California.

It gets even stranger when you look at electric bicycles.

Companies including USAA, through Markel, offer dedicated e-bike insurance, including coverage for qualifying Class 3 e-bikes that provide pedal assistance up to 28 mph.

So a 28 mph electric bicycle is easy to insure, but a smaller, slower, lighter stand-up e-scooter is almost impossible.

Germany Requires Electric Scooter Insurance for everyone. So will that happen here at some point?

It’s an interesting international comparison.

VMAX scooters are designed in Switzerland and sold in only three main regions: the United States, Switzerland, and Germany.

Germany has particularly strict technical approval requirements for street-legal electric scooters. Among other things, qualifying scooters must be limited to 20 km/h (12.4 mph), meet specific equipment requirements, and have operating approval. The requirements are incredibly strict, but VMAX scooters pass.

Germany also requires every street-legal stand-up electric scooter to carry liability insurance.

Riders purchase a policy and display a small, numbered insurance sticker on the rear of the scooter. The sticker changes annually, and basic coverage can cost only a few dozen euros per year.

That's one reason VMAX scooters have a spot on the rear fender shaped like a license plate. It’s designed for a German-market insurance sticker.

Switzerland handles things differently. Ordinary qualifying stand-up electric scooters don't require a license plate or dedicated vehicle liability insurance. Riders generally rely on personal liability coverage, subject to their policy terms.

So we have three very different situations:

• United States: Insurance isn't required as far as we can tell, but dedicated individual policies are difficult to find.
• Germany: Liability insurance is mandatory, and insurers sell policies specifically for electric scooters.
• Switzerland: Dedicated scooter insurance isn't required for ordinary qualifying scooters, and personal liability insurance commonly provides coverage.

Germany demonstrates that stand-up scooters can be insured affordably when the regulatory and insurance systems are set up to accommodate them.

Does Homeowners or Renters Insurance Cover Electric Scooters in the USA?

If you can't buy dedicated electric scooter insurance, it’s worth checking in on a policy you probably already have. But don't assume you're covered!

Homeowners and renters insurance sometimes include personal liability coverage for accidents involving bicycles and other activities. Motorized vehicles, however, are frequently excluded.

The Texas Department of Insurance specifically warns that homeowners policies usually don't cover damage caused by motorized vehicles such as electric scooters.

USAA also has policy restrictions relating to motorized bicycles and scooters, including certain vehicles designed for public-road use.

And remember that liability coverage and theft coverage are two completely different things.

A policy might cover a scooter stolen from your garage but not an accident you cause while riding it.

Or it might cover theft at home but may exclude theft when your scooter is locked outside a store.

The only way to know is to ask your insurance company about your specific scooter and policy.

If you’re concerned about preventing electric scooter theft, or tracking your scooter. Check out this blog post I made where I hired my buddy Mike to steal my scooter and then tracked him down with an AirTag hidden within the scooter. It’s a fun one!

Here are five Questions to Ask Your Insurance Company

If you already have homeowners or renters insurance, here are the questions I'd ask:

1. Does my policy cover liability if I injure someone while riding my stand-up electric scooter?
2. Does it cover damage I cause to someone else's vehicle or property?
3. Does it cover theft of my scooter at home?
4. Does it cover theft when my scooter is locked up somewhere else?
5. If my existing policy excludes electric scooters, can I purchase additional coverage?

Make sure you're talking about a privately owned, stand-up electric scooter, not a seated mobility scooter, electric bicycle, or motorcycle.

Those are very different insurance categories.

And if your insurance company says you're covered, ask for confirmation in writing and check the actual policy exclusions.

What About Umbrella Insurance?

If your homeowner’s or renter’s policy doesn’t have you covered ask them if an umbrella policy would work. Policies like this provide additional personal liability protection beyond the limits of certain underlying insurance policies.

It's worth asking your agent whether an umbrella policy could cover an electric scooter accident.

But there's a catch.

Umbrella insurance doesn't automatically cover every activity or vehicle. A policy may exclude certain motorized vehicles or require underlying insurance coverage that you can't obtain for a stand-up scooter.

Don't assume an umbrella policy solves the problem without getting a specific answer from your insurer.

Should Electric Scooter Riders Be Worried About Insurance?

After several days researching state laws and calling insurance companies, my answer is:

Probably less than you think.

We've been riding bicycles our entire lives without dedicated bicycle liability insurance, and most of us have never given it a second thought.

The good news is that most states explicitly don't require dedicated liability insurance for legal electric scooters.

The frustrating news is that if you want additional protection, your options at the moment are extremely limited.

That doesn't mean there's no financial risk. If you cause an accident and have no applicable insurance, you could still be personally responsible for damages.

The practical approach is to understand your local laws, ride responsibly, and find out whether any of your existing insurance policies provide coverage.

Where policies for e-scooters are offered, they’re generally very inexpensive, indicating that the insurance companies recognize the potential for damage from a sub 100lb scooter is relatively low (provided you give pedestrians plenty of space).

The Bottom Line: Insurance Usually Isn't Required, but Coverage Is Hard to Find

After researching the laws across the country and contacting insurers that cover everything from e-bikes to golf carts, I came away with two clear findings.

Most Americans riding legally classified electric scooters don't need a dedicated liability insurance policy. And for riders who would like that protection anyway, the insurance industry has yet to provide an easily accessible option, but check with Progressive in your area (and let me know what you find).

That gap deserves attention. Electric scooters are an established form of transportation, and riders should have the option to protect themselves against liability without having to spend days searching for an insurer.

Have you found any US insurance company that offers individual liability coverage for privately owned stand-up electric scooters? We'd like to hear about it.

Share the insurer, the coverage offered, and the approximate price in the comments. We'll continue following developments in electric scooter insurance and state regulations here on the VMAX blog. 

And make sure to check out our video about this topic: 

This article reflects research conducted in 2026 and is intended as general information, not legal or insurance advice. State laws, vehicle classifications, enforcement, and insurance policy terms can change. Confirm the rules where you ride and the coverage available under your own policies.