When a robot costing tens of thousands of yuan causes trouble, who will pay the bill?

(Source: Caixin)

A relevant person from Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance told Caixin that currently, robot insurance is mainly handled by leasing companies, and robot manufacturing companies generally do not purchase insurance. This model is similar to the automotive industry’s “car manufacturers do not buy insurance, and car owners purchase car insurance.” In the future, robot insurance may develop by referencing the car insurance model.

Humanoid robots costing tens of thousands of yuan are accelerating from laboratories to diverse application scenarios—dancing, boxing, running, fashion shows—the commercial boundaries are continuously expanding.

On this year’s Spring Festival Gala stage, robot companies such as Yushu Technology, Magic Atom, Galaxy General, and Songyan Power appeared together, further igniting industry enthusiasm and temporarily causing multiple brand products to sell out.

According to IDC forecasts, by 2026, the global smart robot hardware market will approach $30 billion, with China leading the growth of the embodied intelligent robot market worldwide, becoming the core driving force behind market expansion. At that time, China’s embodied intelligent robot market size will surpass $11 billion.

Whether it is the accelerated deployment of consumer applications or the high growth expectations in the industry, a more realistic question has emerged amid the enthusiasm: when these expensive robots experience falls, damage, or other issues during use, who should bear the related losses?

According to Caixin, leading property insurance companies such as PICC Property & Casualty, Ping An Property & Casualty, and Taiping Property & Casualty have launched dedicated robot insurance products covering risks like body damage and third-party liability.

Specifically, PICC Property & Casualty has introduced “Embodied Intelligent Robot Comprehensive Insurance,” building a protection system of “robot body damage insurance + third-party liability insurance.” For robot body protection, it covers natural disasters like typhoons and heavy rain, as well as collisions and falls, and also includes coverage for cyber security incidents and system crashes caused by operational anomalies. For third-party rights protection, it provides legal compensation and dispute resolution services for scenarios such as delivery robots injuring pedestrians, medical accidents involving surgical robots, and damage to industrial robot equipment. These insurance products have been implemented in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other regions.

Additionally, Ping An Property & Casualty has launched an embodied intelligent comprehensive financial solution, offering solutions for R&D, operation, thermal runaway, electrical, mechanical, network, and related risks, and customized integrated protection plans covering R&D expenses, product liability, AI system liability, electrochemical performance degradation, and other full-scenario embodied intelligent risks.

Taiping Property & Casualty has also launched relevant products for humanoid robot protection. It is reported that Taiping Property & Casualty Ningbo Branch has introduced the country’s first insurance product specifically designed for the commercialization of humanoid robots, called “Jizhi Bao.” The product features three major innovations: first, full scenario coverage, pioneering risk protection across the entire “production, sales, leasing, and use” chain; second, integrated coverage, combining body damage, third-party liability, and property loss; third, flexible terms, supporting daily, weekly, or monthly insurance to adapt to various commercial scenarios.

So, who should pay for robot insurance?

A representative from Qingtian Leasing, a robot leasing platform, told Caixin that in robot leasing scenarios, the platform usually handles insurance uniformly, and lessees do not need to purchase it separately.

A relevant person from Ping An Property & Casualty also told Caixin that currently, robot insurance is mainly borne by leasing companies, and robot manufacturers generally do not purchase insurance. This model is similar to the automotive industry’s “car manufacturers do not buy insurance, and car owners purchase car insurance.” In the future, robot insurance may develop by referencing the car insurance model.