Uber has announced that it will provide insurance cover for all riders for each trip they take on the application. The technology company partnered with First Assurance Company Limited a trusted insurance company that provides both general and life insurance policies such as motor, life, travel and medical insurance.
The insurance policy took effect from 16th Oct 2017 and continues to be available to all riders using Uber.
Riders using the app will be insured for accidental medical expenses, costs while on hospital confinement, ambulance emergency as well as compensation for death or serious injury suffered by a passenger amongst others while on a trip with Uber.
Speaking during the launch, Uber’s General Manager for East Africa Loic Amado confirmed, “We are excited about this new and innovative insurance policy. The insurance coverage goes hand in hand with Uber’s commitment to build safety into our service from beginning to end: before a passenger even gets into the car, throughout the journey and after they have reached their destination.”
Uber has continued to promote the safety of its riders through features such as GPS tracked trips, a rating and feedback system that ensures two way accountability and information provided to riders about the car and driver such as the driver-partners name, photo, license plate number and the make of the car.
The launch of this personal accident insurance cover will go a step further in enhancing the safety of riders. The cover which insures riders for accidental medical expenses, hospital confinement, ambulance emergency, death or serious injury suffered by a passenger amongst others also complements the PSV insurance that each Uber driver-partner has for their vehicles.
George Alande, Managing Director at First Assurance explains, “We are pleased about our partnership with Uber which will enable us to continue doing what we do best; providing insurance and quality services that create and add value to all Kenyans, we are happy to provide insurance products to Uber riders when they are using the app”.
This announcement follows the company’s rollout of the Real-Time ID check in June this year. The Real-Time ID check feature requires drivers logging on to the app to take a photo (selfie), which is then verified against Uber’s records through advanced facial recognition technology. If a driver fails the test, their account will be temporarily blocked until the issue is resolved.
Uber continues to look for more ways to ensure the safety of driver-partners and riders while on the road and this announcement is one way of doing that. In June this year the company partnered with Chubb insurance in South Africa to provide insurance cover for riders in South Africa. The company also partnered with Axa Mansard in Nigeria to provide insurance cover for incidents that occur to driver-partners while driving with Uber.
