Uber Adds Injury Protection For Drivers and Raises Fares in Eight States
Last week, Uber sent out an email to drivers in 8 states informing them about a new driver injury protection that they would be eligible for. The insurance company is through Aon and it will apply for any trips in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, Delaware, Illinois, Arizona, Oklahoma and Massachusetts. The pilot program only applies to drivers in these eight states. In order to pay for the driver injury protection, Uber fares increased by 5 cents-per-mile.
Below is the email:
Below is the text of the email:
For less than four cents a mile, Driver Injury Protection is a new offering to h elp minmize the financial impact an accident could have on you and your family
- Disability Payments
- Medical Expenses
- Survivor Benefits
Medical Expenses
Up to $1,000,000 with no deductible or copay
Survivor Benfits
Up to $150,000 for your family
Simple, per mile premiums
Pay $0.0375 per mile when on trip – when coverage for the whole time you’re online
The insurance will cover medical expenses and loss of income from an on-the-job accident up to $1 million. Drivers in the program won’t have to pay a deductible or copay. The injury protection insurance covers drivers only when they’re online with the Uber driver application, not when you are offline or driving for other services.
I have previously reported about how Uber and Lyft drivers are not covered for medical expenses when they get into an accident while on Uber and Lyft. You can read more about the lack of coverage in the below post:
Uber seems to have tried to bridge the gap in insurance coverage with this new pilot program. Luckily, there is no cost to drivers and is paid completely with an increase of the Uber fares in 8 states of 5 cents per mile. The cost of the coverage is $0.0375 per mile but this accounts for various commission and fees from Uber, so the 5 cent per mile increase in fares should completely pay for the Uber driver injury protection.
I believe that Lyft will be working hard to come up with this type of protection nationwide. While I don’t think this feature alone will influence many drivers to drive for Uber rather than Lyft, it may be part of their competitive advantage. Lyft has also raised rates in these 8 states as well, but they do not yet have a similar driver injury protection at this time.
The driver injury protection insurance is definitely a first of its kind in the on-demand economy. Hopefully, the entire economy will move in this direction in order to bring more protection and insurance for on-demand workers. Insurance coverage and availability have always been lacking in the on-demand economy and since we are independent contractors, it is very difficult and expensive for on-demand workers to get it on their own.
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