Uber launches seamless insurance facility for passengers

Soon after the launch of its customer support helpline in India, ride hailing app Uber on September 25 announced the launch of insurance service for its passengers in partnership with Bharti AXA and Tata AIG.

Uber will be offering its riders up to Rs 5 lakh in case of death or permanent disability due to an accident, up to Rs 2 lakh coverage for hospitalisation and Rs 50,000 in case of an outpaitient scenario.

Customers will not be charged anything for this cover. They will be covered from the time of booking the ride till time the ride ends or is cancelled.

While the passengers were insured even before the launch of this service under vehicle insurance, the process to claim the cover was lengthy.

"Safety is at the very heart of everything we do. There are a lot of stuff that we have done on the safety side. One thing that we were seeing was that the process to the claim was a little onerous so we said what can we do to smoothen that experience and when people look at using our services, they don't even have to think there is that proactive reassurance in their mind," Pavan Vaish, Head of Central Operations (Rides) for India, South Asia, told Moneycontrol in an interaction.

The service has been effective since August 15 and is applicable on cab, auto as well as Moto rides.

Interestingly, rival Ola also announced the launch of a health insurance service in partnership with Religare Health Insurance. It will allow policyholders a cover of Rs 5,000 per day of hospitalisation with a total of Rs 500,000 per year.

While unlike Uber, Ola is charging its customers a premium amount of Rs 3 per day, it has ensured that these policies are not limited only to customers while riding an Ola.

The policy will be available to the registered Ola users and can be purchased through the Ola app. It covers customers for hospitalisation post accidents, treatments and critical illness.

While Uber is present in over 40 cities in India, Ola claims to be available in 200 cities.