Insuretech Critical To Uber Operations

Ridesharing pioneer Uber has entered into a partnership with insurance technology start-up INSHUR to offer insurance services to drivers utilizing the Uber app. This partnership comes approximately one month after Uber noted in filings related to its upcoming initial public offering that its business “depends heavily on insurance coverage for drivers and on other types of insurance for additional risks related to [its] business.”

Via the new partnership, INSHUR will utilize information gathered via the Uber app to analyze a driver’s average trips, location and rating in near real-time in order to calculate the driver’s risk and determine pricing, with safer drivers being rewarded with less expensive policies. Uber drivers will be able to log on to the INSHUR app with their Uber ID and—after scanning their driver’s license—chose a type of coverage and pay for the policy.

According to Uber and INSHUR, the process via the INSHUR app takes only three minutes, and drivers can make changes round-the-clock without needing to speak to an insurance broker. Once a driver selects and pays for a policy, the insurance documents are automatically uploaded on to the Uber platform.

Besides facilitating the insurance process for Uber’s drivers, this new partnership between INSHUR and Uber is also intended to help lower insurance fraud. INSHUR is currently the only 100 percent mobile PHV insurance provider in the UK, allowing the company to offer real-time digital checks without any need for manual interference.

Director of Uber London Limited Fred Jones noted that “safety is at the heart of everything we do and motor insurance is at the heart of private hire safety.” He went on to point out that “we have introduced many new safety features in the app and improved our processes over the past 18 months…however, we won’t stop there because when it comes to safety on our platform, our work is never done.”

Uber and INSHUR have plans to expand their partnership as well. According to the co-founder of INSHUR David Daiches, “We have built a data-driven technology platform, secured insurance capacity with a trusted global insurer and are scaling our business in New York and the UK.”