British Columbia’s new insurance for the Taxi industry and ride-hailing companies

British Columbia has decided implement new insurance plans for the taxi industry and ride-hailing establishment.

The provincial government of Victoria, British Columbia is in the process of creating a new insurance system such as Uber or Lyft. This new system is believed to change the way taxis are usually insured.

The Canadian Minister for Transportation, Todd Stone said that one of his interviews with Postmedia News that he wants the ride hailing companies such as Uber Lyft to buy surplus motor/vehicle insurance from ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. This surplus tax will make sure that they pay extra when they have a paying passenger in their vehicle.

The insurance will come with an app. The insurance take effect when the app is turned on and will stop when the app is turned off. The insurance is based on the distance traveled (in kilometers) by the vehicle being used. This is the only way that the insurance works with the ride hailing establishments.

This kind of surplus motor insurance is not new to Canada. It has already been introduced in provinces such a Alberta (In the west) and Ontario (in the west). In these provinces, Uber buys insurance for its drivers as well as a $2 million third-party liability protection for the length of every trip.

The British Columbia Liberals have guaranteed that the ride-hailing system working by Christmas of 2017 but that is only if they are elected on the 9^th of May. On the other hand, the B.C NDP stated that it would destroy the ride hailing system proposal (mostly because they are in support of the taxi industry) if they are elected.