For the past several months, members of the Seattle City Council have called out companies like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar for not sharing their insurance policies, saying that they need to see the documents in order to help form requirements for regulation.
Now, though, Uber has answers — but only after an anonymous leaker revealed the previously secret information.
Uber just posted a blog that includes a link to the 33-page policy, which you can view here. The company’s decision to reveal this information comes after an anonymous person on Monday shared Uber’s policy with taxi companies and the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which had confirmed its authenticity.
We just did a quick comparison of the leaked policy and the one Uber shared today, and they look identical.
Uber notes that the company has shared its policy already with city officials and regulators upon request, but that it now is “proud to share it publicly.”
“We are confident it is a best-in-class policy and hope that this additional transparency addresses any remaining questions about the insurance provided to ridesharing partners on our platform,” Uber wrote.
[Related: Here’s what happened when my family got hit while riding in a Lyft]
The policy, which kicks in when a drivers’ personal policy cannot cover an incident, is provided by Virginia-based commercial specialty insurer James River Insurance Co. and interestingly notes “Raiser LLC” as the party insured instead of Uber Technologies Inc.
“Rasier is a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber Technologies Inc. that partners with ridesharing drivers,” Uber notes in today’s blog post. “All ridesharing drivers have a contract with Rasier.”
Here’s how Uber describes who and what is covered by this policy:
This policy covers the liability of 1) ridesharing drivers (described as “Named Operators” in the policy) who have accepted a trip and are en route to pick up passengers or that are transporting passengers to their destination 2) Rasier and 3) Uber Technologies, Inc. Liability coverage is up to $1 million per incident for bodily injury or property damage to passengers or any other third parties, such as pedestrians, other vehicles, buildings, etc. The policy also covers bodily injury caused by uninsured and underinsured motorists up to $1 million/incident, so that no matter who is at fault, coverage is in place.
Uber also has a separate policy put into place earlier this month that will cover drivers not only when they are shuttling passengers around town, but also when they are simply “live” on the Uber system ready to accept a ride. Uber has not shared that policy publicly.
Uber’s insurance policies have come into question several times over the past year and especially after the company denied liability after one of its drivers struck and killed a 6-year-old girl in San Francisco. One big issue is whether a driver’s personal policy would even cover damages resulting from an accident since the drivers are providing a commercial service.
Taxi drivers, who pay upwards of $10,000 per year for commercial insurance that is required by the City of Seattle, have also been angry with Uber for not revealing its policies.
New legislation just approved last week by the Seattle City Council require companies like UberX, Lyft and Sidecar to provide underinsured motorist coverage indicating a minimum coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident at any time while active on their dispatch systems.
You can see the full policy below, and we’ll keep updating this story as we learn more.
