Soon, Insurance Cover While Hiring Taxi Service much Like Airlines, Railways

Soon, you will be able to opt for travel insurance cover while travelling in a cab from one place to another within the same city. Taxi service providers and aggregators such as Ola and Uber are looking to tie up with insurance companies to provide cover to their passengers for any accident, medical emergency or even loss of baggage much like airlines and railways.The insurance cover will be over your own personal accident or third party motor insurance. Passengers will have to pay an additional 3-5% for this cover. The charges could change depending on the needs of the customers.Sources said that insurers such as ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Reliance General Insurance are already in talks with the taxi service providers for the same.

“We are looking at launching a domestic travel insurance product in the near future that will cover your ride via any of the e-commerce taxi service providers in India,” TA Ramalingam, chief distribution officer, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance told Hindustan Times.

“One will be able to opt for the cover on a per day or a per trip basis... the insured will be able to customise the policy depending upon her requirement,” Ramalingam said. A Reliance General Insurance spokesperson added, “We are evaluating a few products in this space, which has been gaining acceptance and growing in scale.”Uber and Ola, however, refused to comment on the issue.Sources, meanwhile, said that this market was still in its nascent stage and “this could be used as an experiment to test the waters.”This insurance segment will particularly help many foreign travellers visiting the country, an industry insider said, adding that many passengers are still reluctant to hail a cab late at night or while travelling to deserted areas.