LTFRB: Uber ‘lied’ to senators

“Uber lied.”

It’s strike two for Uber this week, as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) alleged on Friday that the transport network company (TNC) “lied” to the senators when it said that its passengers are covered by insurance “100 percent.”

READ: LTFRB shows ‘proof’ of Uber violation

“The LTFRB notes that the statement given by (Uber Philippines public policy head) Yves Gonzalez during the Senate hearing is not true. For us, Uber lied,” LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada said on Friday.

According to Lizada, it is also “not true” that Uber’s insurer is the Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency Inc., as the firm told them that “they no longer insured Uber after August [last year].”

Lizada said that Uber’s insurer is UCPB General Auto Passenger Accident Insurance, to which the TNC has availed itself of a package that has “very limited coverage” for passengers.

Based on the LTFRB’s Memorandum Circular No. 2015-028, which set forth the guidelines for the three-year enhanced personal passenger accident insurance program, P200,000 would be given to the family of passengers killed in an accident.

A schedule of payment was also set for various types of injuries and disability, ranging from P5,000 to P100,000. Passengers are also assured of legal assistance of P15,000, among others.

While Uber’s insurance package also hands out P200,000 in case of death, its schedule of payment for injuries is limited.

It requires passengers to have “total and irrevocable loss of all sight in both eyes; total loss by physical severance at or above the wrist or ankle of one hand or one foot together with the total and irrevocable loss of all sight in one eye; and total loss by physical severance at or above the wrist or ankle of both hands or both feet or one hand together with one foot” to be able to receive the maximum coverage of P200,000.”

For injuries such as “total and irrevocable loss of all sight in one eye, and total loss by physical severance at or above the wrist or ankle of one hand or one foot,” a passenger is covered up to P100,000.

Lizada noted that unlike the insurance coverage of other public utility vehicles, Uber’s does not have a no-fault indemnity clause as well as an all-risk package.

No-fault indemnity meant that a passenger can still claim insurance even if the accident is caused by the other party, such as a jeep or bus. An all-risk package would still cover passengers on “extreme conditions,” such as the vehicle they are in is out-of-line, or the driver is drunk or under the influence of drugs.

“This is what we’re after–the safety of the riding public. We hope that the public would understand this,” Lizada said.

Last month, the LTFRB ordered TNCs Grab and Uber “to cease with dispatch” the operations of their drivers who do not have a certificate of public convenience or provisional authority to operate. The crackdown on colorum transport network vehicle service (TNVS) providers was however stayed after the TNCs filed a motion for reconsideration, to which the agency has yet to issue its resolution.

On July 26, the LTFRB issued another order to the TNCs to stop the acceptance as well as activation of new TNVS. However, Uber defied this order by continuing to accept new applications.

Over the weekend, the LTFRB was also able to activate three cars into Uber’s system. Uber was given five days to submit its written explanation why its accreditation, set to expire this month, should not be canceled.