Aviva Canada says ride-sharing insurance coming in February

TORONTO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Aviva Canada will offer
ride-sharing insurance to Ontario drivers who use their own
vehicles to carry paying passengers next month, a service that
could solve a major headache for ride-hailing company Uber
Technologies Inc UBER.UL .
The Canadian subsidiary of Aviva plc AV.L said the
coverage is the first time it will offer ride-sharing insurance
anywhere in the world.
It will be available to existing Aviva personal auto
policyholders for drivers that spend up to 20 hours a week
driving paying passengers and costs a small portion of the
income earned by the driver.
Insurance was a major bone of contention in a raucous debate
at Toronto city hall in late September, when the council voted
to write new transportation rules that would apply to Uber and
its ilk and asked the Silicon Valley-based company to stop
operating while they did so.
Aviva said it will protect ride-sharing drivers from the
moment they make themselves available to passengers through the
collecting and dropping off of those passengers.
Cab drivers typically pay between C$4,000 and C$12,000 a
year for commercial coverage, depending on driving history.
Many have complained that the UberX service undercuts taxis
on price by avoiding costly licensing and insurance.
Aviva said it will work with regulators across the country
to make the product more widely available in coming months.
"We're excited to offer a simple and affordable solution
within a driver's existing personal auto policy, thereby
providing drivers and passengers with absolute peace of mind
that they have insurance coverage while ride sharing," said Greg
Somerville, chief executive of Aviva Canada.
The move by Aviva preempts a similar product planned by
rival Intact Financial Corp's IFC.TO insurance arm, which said
in September it was working with Uber on tailored insurance
products for its drivers, in liaison with regulators and
different levels of government in provinces where the service
currently exists.
Toronto's city council expects to consider draft rules in
spring to cover Uber and similar services, which match drivers,
some of whom are not licensed taxi drivers, to riders via a
smartphone app and take a cut of the fare.