The policy combines two components: a fixed premium covering private vehicle use and a variable rideshare premium calculated on kilometres driven through the Uber platform each month. When a driver logs more platform kilometres, the rideshare portion rises. When they drive less, it falls. The product covers vehicle damage, theft, and loss during both private and Uber rideshare use. It is available exclusively through the Uber Driver app.
Vero head of platform business Laura Broughton said the pricing structure responds to how rideshare drivers actually work. “Rideshare drivers don’t all work the same hours from week to week or month to month, so traditional insurance models don’t always reflect how they use their vehicle. This product gives drivers a more flexible way to access cover that matches their driving patterns and helps reduce the risk of gaps in protection,” she said.
Uber Australia and New Zealand head of driver operations Daniel Lopez described the per-kilometre mechanism in direct terms. “If a driver decides to purchase this optional ridesharing insurance through the Uber app, a pay-per-kilometre mechanism means they’re paying exactly for what they need – they pay more in the months they drive more with the Uber app, and pay less when they drive less,” he said.
Rideshare insurance in Australia is not a standalone product category. Standard private-use motor policies routinely exclude commercial passenger transport, and drivers who do not disclose rideshare activity risk having claims declined.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has a published approach document specifically covering motor vehicle insurance disclosure and ridesharing. It addresses disputes where rideshare use was not disclosed either during a policy period or at renewal – and its implications extend to brokers placing annual motor cover for clients who also drive for platforms.
A 2025 AFCA determination illustrates what is at stake. A motor policyholder who had begun driving for Uber lodged a claim after an accident. The insurer denied it, arguing it would not have accepted the risk had rideshare use been disclosed at inception. AFCA found the insurer had not established the driver was carrying passengers commercially when the policy was taken out, and that the rideshare exclusion did not apply because no passenger was on board at the time of the accident. The insurer was directed to accept the claim and pay $1,500 in non-financial loss compensation.
The case is not unusual. Most standard motor policies contain explicit rideshare exclusions, and the line between private and commercial use is not always clear to drivers – or to the brokers who place their cover.
The launch comes as the regulatory environment around gig workers is shifting in ways that affect the insurance market directly. On August 12, 2026, the Fair Work Commission issued Australia’s first legally enforceable minimum standards for gig delivery workers. The order, which took effect August 17, 2026, requires digital labour platform operators to provide and fund personal accident insurance for covered workers. The Commission has been granted authority to set equivalent minimum standards for rideshare workers, with further orders under consideration.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 1.2% of employed people undertook digital platform work in 2023-24, with delivering food and other goods and providing personal transport among the most common tasks. Both areas are now subject to minimum-standards proceedings before the Fair Work Commission, although the regulatory processes are at different stages.
The product sits within a distribution model that is growing rapidly at the expense of traditional channels. PwC analysis projects embedded insurance will account for $35 billion, or 18%, of Australia’s total insurance market by 2033, growing at an estimated 34% CAGR between 2024 and 2033 – compared with 4% CAGR for traditional channels over the same period.
Cover Genius chief business officer Barney Pierce said the launch reflects broader changes in how consumers expect protection to be delivered. “Companies such as Uber and Vero are leading the way with a flexible mindset and a clear recognition that the way we work, budget, and live has changed,” he said.
Cover Genius provides the embedded insurance distribution platform for the product. The insurtech reported 50% year-over-year revenue growth in 2025 and said it had surpassed US$3 billion in cumulative gross written sales.
By distributing cover through the Uber Driver app, the product reaches drivers directly – bypassing brokers, aggregators, and comparison sites entirely.
Broker-placed rideshare motor cover already exists in Australia. The development of an app-native product distributed directly to drivers points to demand that is not consistently reaching existing channels.
For brokers, the more immediate question is disclosure. From July 2025, new Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) informed consent obligations require brokers providing personal advice to retail clients to obtain informed consent before receiving a commission or placing cover. A motor policy placed for a client who drives for a rideshare platform – without a documented disclosure discussion – sits within the risk those obligations were designed to address.
At each annual motor renewal, three things need to happen: ask whether the client’s vehicle is used for any commercial purpose, including rideshare; document the answer; and confirm whether the existing policy covers that use.
It is also worth establishing whether a client who drives for Uber has already acquired the embedded Vero product through the app – and whether that policy interacts with any existing cover the broker has placed. Where a driver holds two active policies on the same vehicle, questions of excess, coverage overlap, and claims notification obligations become relevant.
The combination of AFCA’s rideshare disclosure framework, ASIC’s updated consent obligations, and the Fair Work Commission’s evolving gig worker insurance standards makes that renewal conversation harder to skip.
