Insurance company Aviva now backing Uber
Posted Jan 6, 2016 04:02:09 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Insurance company Aviva Canada has plans to support Uber drivers with special coverage, a move that could give comfort to users of the ride-sharing service, and one that will likely disrupt the taxi industry.
Aviva said they are responding to the growing use of ride-sharing services and the need to protect both passengers and drivers.
“When consumer needs change, we must evolve our insurance solutions to respond,” Greg Somerville, president and CEO of Aviva Canada said in a statement.
“We’re excited to offer a simple and affordable solution within a driver’s existing personal auto policy, thereby providing drivers and passengers with absolute peace of mind that they have insurance coverage while ride-sharing.”
The coverage will protect those contracted with UberX from the moment they initiate looking for passengers through to collecting and dropping off those passengers.
The coverage will become available for Ontario drivers early next month. Aviva Canada is working to expand it across the country.
Aviva said eligibility will be based on some simple underwriting criteria such as a maximum of eight passengers, having been a licensed driver for a minimum of six years, and no other commercial use, among other stipulations.
“The coverage will be available for drivers that spend up to 20 hours a week participating in ride-sharing. The cost for the additional coverage will equate to a small portion of the income earned by the driver, calculated using factors such as time spent ride-sharing, area driven and driving record,” Aviva said.
Last year, Uber said it was working with Intact Financial to create a ridesharing insurance plan. Currently, Uber notes that “every ride on the UberX platform in Canada is backed by $5,000,000 [$5 million] of contingent auto liability insurance covering bodily injury and property damage.”
UberX, which has regular drivers transporting people in their private cars, doesn’t have commercial licenses and therefore lack the regulation and oversight of traditional taxi companies. Taxi companies have argued that this puts passenger safety in jeopardy while simultaneously driving traditional cabbies out of business.
It’s not known if or when the insurance could be available in Alberta.
Calls to the government have not been returned at the time of publishing.
Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesperson for Uber Canada, provided the following statement:
We are encouraged to see a growing number of Canada’s insurers show interest in innovation in the transportation space. Uber hasn’t seen the details of this new insurance policy, nor is it for sale. We remain committed to working with insurance companies and regulators across Canadian jurisdictions to quickly offer viable insurance products that embrace ridesharing.
