Alberta could be setting a precedent for insurers and other provinces to follow by approving an auto insurance standard for Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) earlier this month, online insurance comparison company Shop Insurance Canada posts.
In late August, Alberta was the first to accept auto insurance for TNC Uber, as well as the regulations that allow TNCs to operate within the province. Since then, various insurance companies have offered TNC-specific insurance products in Canada.
While Ontario had laid groundwork for TNC regulation as far back as March (approving
Aviva Canada’s ridesharing auto insurance), Alberta was the first to define clear ridesharing rules and legitimize insurance coverage.
It was
Intact Insurance that first announced that it was launching a ridesharing insurance product in Alberta starting July 1. Aviva joined the bandwagon shortly thereafter by revealing the August 1 launch of its own ridesharing insurance coverage after previously offering it exclusively to Ontario and Quebec. Pembridge Insurance Company is the latest insurer to offer insurance to TNCs operating in the province.
Pembridge’s coverage will allow customers to add a ridesharing benefit on top of their existing personal auto insurance policy.
“Ride-for-hire is not going away; it’s growing,” Pembridge Insurance Company president and COO Bob Tisdale told
shopinsurancecanada.ca. “The insurance industry needs to be flexible and forward thinking to address customers’ evolving needs.”
Alberta is inviting more insurers to offer coverage for TNCs.
“We support any insurance product that provides appropriate coverage for the individual risk and additional protection for the consumer,” remarked Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta president Julia Marshall.
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