Uber Warns NYC Response to Insolvent Insurer Exposes Drivers
- Taxi regulator to hold public hearing Wednesday on new rules
- Biggest cab insurer underpriced plans and is now insolvent
Some drivers likely won’t be able to afford a pricier alternative if they can no longer choose American Transit Insurance Co. under the revised rules.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesUber Technologies Inc. is asking New York City’s taxi regulator to reconsider proposed changes to commercial auto insurance requirements, saying they may unintentionally leave thousands of drivers in one of the company’s largest markets unable to insure their vehicles.
Uber prepared written comments ahead of a public hearing on Wednesday by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, or TLC, regarding the proposed requirements. As part of these changes, the regulator would add language requiring all TLC-licensed vehicles — including yellow cabs and rideshare cars — to be covered by an insurance policy issued by a “solvent and responsible company authorized to do business” in New York. It would also require minimum coverage to be provided by a single primary policy, prohibiting the use of supplementary insurance from non-state licensed firms.