PSA: Ontario higher-wattage e-scooter owners may have zero liability insurance coverage — government consultation open until June 7
Fellow electric scooter owners,
If you own a higher-wattage electric scooter in Ontario, you may be living with an insurance and regulatory gap you don't even know about — and you have until June 7, 2026 to help fix it.
Ontario's government is currently reviewing its e-bike framework and accepting public comments at the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO Notice 026-0422):
https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/026-0422
The problem: Ontario's Highway Traffic Act classifies scooters based on nominal motor wattage, not actual operating speed. If your scooter exceeds 500W, it falls into a regulatory grey zone — regardless of how fast it actually goes. This means:
- Standard home insurance won't cover you for liability
- Personal umbrella policies may not respond
- Specialty insurers are uncertain how to classify the risk
- You may be riding without any liability coverage and not know it
The fix is simple: classify by governed operating speed, not motor wattage. And give responsible owners a pathway to register and insure their scooters properly.