A lithium-ion battery that started a recycling truck fire in Green Bay, Auckland Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council
Insurers are increasingly concerned about lithium-ion battery fires and what they may mean for home, contents and motor vehicle policies.
Data from insurance firm AMI shows a 17 per cent rise in battery fires year-on-year, with half beginning when the device was not in use.
Most laptops, mobile phones, e-bikes, e-scooters, power banks and power tools contain lithium-ion batteries.
These batteries are most common in rechargeable devices. Most plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles also use lithium-ion batteries.
This week, Auckland recycling firm Simsmetal Industries was fined $30,000 after a fire at a scrap metal yard in 2023 caused by a lithium-ion battery.
In Western Australia, an average of three house fires a week are caused by the batteries exploding, and a growing number of Australian apartment buildings are banning electric vehicles due to fire-risk concerns.
Australian insurers, many of which are the same companies that operate in New Zealand, have said while there are no immediate plans to charge higher premiums for households with the batteries, or to try to restrict their use, they are deeply concerned.
Sarah-Jane Knox is then Consumer Affairs manager at the Insurance Council of New Zealand.
