As ride-hailing Uber continues to sky rocket in popularity, the company shows known signs of slowing down.
And now it appears that Canadian insurance companies are biting the bullet and bringing forward insurance policies that will not only keep Uber drivers on the road, but will keep them covered while they’re driving.
Just this week, Aviva, a Toronto based insurance company, has come forward announcing that they will be offering insurance to Ontario drivers who use their own vehicles to carry paying passengers next month. This is a strategic move that will ease a lot of headaches for Uber drivers, the Huffington Post reports.
This comes as a huge move as many insurance companies have previously warned that if you get into an accident with Uber, you might not be covered.
Until now, most accidents that Uber drivers were in would be payed for by Uber with funds from a contingency fund they had set up.
The company’s new coverage, which is set to launch in February, will be available to existing Aviva personal auto policy holders in Ontario, but the insurer says it’s working with provincial regulators to make the policy available in other provinces “in the coming months.”
But Aviva isn’t the only Canadian company to come forward with a solution for ride-sharing drivers.
This past September, competitor Intact Financial announced a similar policy, claiming that they were working with Uber. But they have yet to come forward with an expected start date.
According to the Huffington Post, the Insurance Bureau of Canada has been trying to get the all Canadian provinces to implement regulatory changes to insurance policies that would allow Uber drivers to purchase their own insurance.
The insurance bureau has sent a proposal to several provincial finance departments to “eliminate some gaps and allow for competitive insurance markets for transportation network companies,” a spokesperson told the Globe and Mail.
This all comes as Uber continues to show resilience in the Toronto ride-sharing market. Just yesterday the company re-launched the UberWav, which is the company’s wheelchair accessible vehicle option, which connects riders with paratransit drivers in vehicles that are equipped with hydraulic ramps or lifts.
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