Lorraine Sommerfield, columnist for a motoring website says she considers it unlikely that too many Uber drivers will take advantage of the new insurance product created to fill the gap between personal vehicle insurance and the coverage offered to commercial drivers.
“
Aviva has offered up a good product,” she writes on driver.ca
Aviva’s product, widely touted as the first available in Canada is an add on to an Aviva personal auto policy. “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."said Greg Somerville, Aviva’s CEO “The coverage will protect ride-sharing drivers (such as those contracted with UberX and the like) from the moment they initiate looking for passengers through to collecting and dropping off those passengers.
Many Uber drivers may not actually be properly covered at present.” The driver may think he or she has coverage because their provider is unaware they are driving for a rideshare program. Testing that theory will take exactly one collision, when that information will come to light and the insurance provider will in all probability void the policy.” Sommerfield explains.
The new coverage offered by Aviva calls for drivers to have a clean driving record stretching back at least six years and is geared towards those driving no more than 20 hours for a ride-hailing service.
It’s the 20 hours that stands to be the major sticking point.
“That 20 hours a week will be taken at your word, unless you have a crash or claim and they take a boo at your Uber records just to confirm it. The fabulous technology that makes Uber so much fun will also bite you in the butt if you lie.”
Despite the concerns with the coverage a number of brokers are doing a roaring trade in selling Uber insurance,
with one particularly finding success via facebook.
