A bill passed late last week by Missouri’s House of Representatives comes down decisively on the issue of liability insurance requirements for ridesharing drivers.
According to the legislation, ridesharing companies like Uber must provide their drivers with commercial coverage at all times when the company app is switched on. That means Uber is liable for accidents not involving passengers if the driver is actively looking for customers.
Previously, a gap existed between personal insurance – which covers the time period before the app is switched on – and commercial insurance, which is triggered once a driver accepts a passenger’s ride request.
In passing the bill, State Representative Noel Shull said Missouri is one of only a few states not to have addressed this important insurance issue.
“By the end of 2015, a total of 29 states had enacted laws to protect not only their drivers, but their passengers and the public, by closing insurance gaps that left drivers and the public vulnerable in an accident,” Shull said while presenting his measure on the floor.
“This talks about the insurance issues to make sure the public is protected in case of an accident,” State Representative Bob Burns, who also supports the bill, said.
The clarification will be appreciated by insurance agents, who have not had direction on how to insure clients who work as Uber drivers. While a bevy of new products purporting to address this coverage gap exist, there was not explicit instruction as to whether they were necessary in the state.
