Only half of Grab, Uber vehicles have rider insurance

The Insurance Commission on Friday called on Grab and Uber operators to secure insurance coverage required of public utility vehicles (PUVs), saying only about half of them had complied with the passenger personal accident insurance program (PPAIP).

“Based on earlier reports that there are a total of 50,000 Uber and Grab active drivers, and assuming that each driver corresponds to one vehicle, only 56.18 percent of the total Uber and Grab vehicles plying on the roads are covered by the mandatory passenger insurance,” Commissioner Dennis Funa said.

The Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency Inc. had issued 21,353 certificates of insurance coverage for vehicles operating under Uber, and 6,719 certificates for vehicles used under Grab, Funa said.

As for SCCI Management and Insurance Agency Corp., it had recorded only about 15 passenger personal accident insurance policies for Grab and Uber vehicles, he added.

“As public transportation in the Philippines continues to evolve, it is very important for all PUVs to have sufficient insurance coverage for the protection of the riding public in the event of an accident, and for the alleviation of the difficulty in paying hospital claims and death benefits to their passengers,” Funa said.

In all, 392,299 vehicles were insured under the PPAIP last year, Insurance Commission data showed.

In terms of vehicle type, the jeepney segment had the highest share with 176,213 units insured in 2016, a decline of 2 percent. The sedan segment increased by 64.94 percent from 55,129 insured units in 2015 to 90,930 in 2016 due to the entry of Grab and Uber, Funa said.

Under the PPAIP, PUVs are required to procure insurance coverage for their passengers, including the driver. The maximum death benefit is pegged at P200,000 per passenger, while the amount covering injuries is based on the type of injury sustained.