Allianz includes ridesharing in car insurance policies

Allianz has extended its car insurance cover to include Australians who take part in the ridesharing economy such as Uber driving and GoGet services.

This means individual customers with comprehensive, third party property or third party fire and theft insurance policies under Allianz can notify the insurer to have their ridesharing activities covered.

Chief Market Manager, John Myler said Allianz was committed to its customers and their changing insurance needs.

“We recognise that there has been a change in how customers use their cars in the sharing economy and we want to ensure they can continue to trust Allianz to protect them as their insurance needs change,” he said.

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While ridesharing is popular around the world, many insurers are still yet to jump on the bandwagon and include such activities in their policies.

Dubbed “Rideshare Guy”, US blogger Harry Campbell conducted a recent poll for readers to submit whether they had a rideshare specific insurance policy. Out of nearly seven thousand respondents only around 10% answered yes.

“My hope is that one day all major carriers will offer rideshare-friendly policies but until then, drivers will have to either switch insurers or assume the risk of going without a rideshare friendly policy”, wrote Campbell in his blog post.

Popular ridesharing activities in Australia include:

- Uber and GoCatch: Cheaper alternative modes of transport that have disrupted the taxi industry in Australia.

- Drive My Car: Allows Aussies to rent out their cars and hire vehicles owned by everyday Australians cheaply from seven days to a year.

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