Insurers are switching on to lithium-ion battery fire risks. What solutions can you recommend to protect your customers’ premises, their people, and their premiums?
As a company committed to providing insurance, how can you come through on this for those of your customers using lithium-ion batteries when so many uncertainties are in place?
Lithium-ion batteries are transforming the way businesses operate today. From rechargeable devices to electric vehicles (EVs), they’re all around us in the workplace. However, the uncertainty surrounding this battery type is a sticking point for insurers trying to understand their risks.
- Li-ion batteries can spontaneously ignite or explode in certain conditions, presenting a significant risk to a business’ premises, assets, people, and the environment.
- At this moment in time, government legislation surrounding Li-ion batteries is inconsistent at best, meaning guidance around their safe storage is unclear.
- The novelty of this battery type, and its speed of adoption in recent years, means historical data on risk and damages is lacking or else not easily accessible.
In the absence of regulatory authorities, where can you turn to learn about Li-ion battery fires and their risks? And what solutions exist to inform your terms and conditions so that risk is reduced, claims can be assessed, and your customers can be kept safe?
Know the products designed to reduce Li-ion battery risk
Li-ion battery incidents occur when the battery cells become compromised. Damage can result from a number of factors, including but not limited to design/manufacturing defects, physical damage to the battery pack, overheating, and overcharging (which can also result in the battery overheating). The best way to minimise risk against the majority of these factors is to store the batteries in a secure location, even when the battery is set to charge.
A range of specialist solutions are already available to contain batteries of various sizes and volumes for both standing storage, charging, and transportation as required.
Our innovative range has been specifically designed to meet the growing demand from our customers for specialist battery storage on which they can depend to reduce lithium-ion fire risk and keep their people and their premises safe.
Cabinets
Our cabinets are suitable for the recharging and storage of lithium-ion batteries included in equipment such as electric bicycles, gardening and power tools, and e-scooters.
Lockers
Fire-protected and with the option to add charging points and smoke detectors, our purpose-built lockers make ideal environments for safely charging lithium-ion batteries.
Transport boxes
Your customers can transport small lithium-ion batteries safely and securely with our small battery transports, building safety and resilience across their operations, wherever they go.
Large steel outside storage
Designed to safely store smaller battery packs on shelves, this store can be specified to suit a number of applications such as a test room or intermediate storage of faulty batteries.
Water quarantine systems
Using the same technology developed for our flood defence range, these barriers enable your customers to rapidly submerge the battery in an electric vehicle, preventing reignition.
Bespoke solutions
Following an initial consultation, we’ll bring in our team of designers and engineers who’ll work with your customers to deliver a bespoke solution all the way from proof of concept to pioneering product.
To minimise the risks to your customers associated with design defects, we recommend taking a selective approach in terms of which manufacturers’ products you go on to refer.
Related read: 5 Ways Your Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Be Damaged (and What to Look For)
Work with the specialists designing and manufacturing them
Our position as a leader in lithium-ion battery safety solutions is underscored by our rigorous commitment to technical excellence and industry certifications. Our specialist team, composed of seasoned product managers, engineers, and researchers, boasts an unparalleled understanding of battery chemistry, thermal dynamics, and failure modes.
This expertise enables Emtez to craft innovative safety solutions that not only meet but exceed industry standards. Many of the products within the range have been tested in state-of-the-art facilities fully equipped to analyse battery components, identify potential risks, and validate the effectiveness of our solutions under various conditions.
Across our group of companies, we hold a comprehensive array of certifications and accreditations from esteemed regulatory bodies and industry organisations such as Efectis Group, TÜV Rheinland, and Bureau Veritas.
We welcome correspondence from insurance companies looking to support their customers in these areas to define effective policy terms and conditions surrounding Li-ion battery use.
Outside-the-box protection at exclusive rates
To be stored safely, Li-ion batteries require purpose-built solutions. Ours are engineered using our deep Li-ion expertise to provide the high levels of safety and protection required.
As well as offering a wide range of off-the-shelf storage solutions and custom-built units, we are able to extend exclusive discounts to your customers for units purchased from us, so every customer taking out a policy with you can access these essential safety systems.
To insure something is to protect against uncertainty. A possible eventuality. Risk, in its simplest terms. And yet many policies are anything but simple when pen is put to paper. Even the best understood, most predictable risks require carefully worded terms informed by government legislation and historical data on incident rates, damages, and compensation, which is where complexity creeps in. For new risk factors, such as the adoption of emerging technology, the level of complexity — of risk — skyrockets, and not just for the customer.
Li-ion batteries are reshaping industries as we know them, but the associated risks are high. Protect your customers’ workplaces, their people, and their premiums today.
For more information about our Li-ion battery storage products, download your free copy of our Li-ion catalogue or click the image below to book a chat.
