Insurance providers are examining whether to impose stricter terms on cover for stores selling vapes, due to potential fire risks associated with lithium batteries.
Several industry sources told Better Retailing some retailers were experiencing challenges getting insurance cover. They claimed providers were being cautious about rechargeable vapes stored on premises, or disposables held in recycling bins as part the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulation.
Asked by Better Retailing whether the firm was examining this in its own insurance assessments, Zurich Municipal risk proposition manager, Alix Bedford said: “The standpoint we come from is that vapes and other items with lithium batteries are an emerging risk and the evidence is building around them. We’re monitoring the fire risk attached to them.
“At the moment we’re not asking additional questions from an insurance point of view. It doesn’t mean we won’t, depending on how the risk evolves. We’re working with partner organisations trying to raise awareness of the risk.”
Research published by Zurich last year claimed that disposable vapes disposed incorrectly by households had led to fires in both homes and bin collections. Freedom of Information requests sent out by the firm revealed fires in bin lorries had increased by 62% to 125 between 2020 and 2022, while house fires caused by disposable vapes doubled to 123 in the same two-year period.
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Bedford added the firm was also examining risks associated with rechargeable devices. She said: “Counterfeiting and the illicit vape market is something we monitor. We’re aware of the risks around it.
“Even when you go beyond the disposable vape ban next year, there needs to be more public awareness about rechargeable vapes and the fire risk. Trading standards and law enforcement are on this and stores can mitigate the risks by working with those organisations.”
Walter Murray, managing director of Christie Insurance, added an increase in counterfeit vapes and their associated dangers could also lead to more insurance companies getting tougher on cover.
He told Better Retailing: “You see a lot of counterfeit vapes coming onto the market and that’s where the problem is arising. They’re not manufactured to the same standard as authorised names.
“Cigarettes in the old days were highly attractive for theft and the insurance industry told businesses to lock them away securely. I think that’s what will happen with vaping. If you wanted to break into a retailer and find something easy to steal, you’d pick vapes. You grab three or four of those, you can sell them easily on the high street. The insurance industry will impose terms on businesses to store them securely.”
Asked how retailers can minimise insurance risk, Murray advised limiting the quantity stored, while storing disposable vapes returned under WEEE off store premises and having them removed with a reputable disposal company.
Meanwhile, one retailer, who asked not to be named, claimed their insurance provider had asked them to ensure used vapes were stored in a metal bin and collected at least once a week. They told Better Retailing: “Keeping them in a metal bin is not a problem, but weekly collection would be impossible. I’m looking at £150 per collection. In the future, insurers may take a dim view of stores who have a bucket full of vapes that may be faulty or risk catching fire.”
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