Tag Archives: Uber
Leaked Transcript Shows Geico’s Stance Against Uber, Lyft
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
The largest insurer, State Farm, said it would not cover ride-service activities. “We do not insure livery use, therefore, customers should not depend on their personal auto insurance coverage to protect them while driving for a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft,” State Farm spokesman Sevag Sarkissian wrote in an e-mail. “A commercial auto insurance policy is needed to insure against livery use exposures.” Allstate, the third-largest, has a similar policy. Read More ›
Uber Clueless On Women, Privacy, The Press And Taking The ‘God View’
Forbes reports: “Julia Allison, an attendee at a launch party in Chicago in September 2011, says Uber treated guests to Creepy Stalker View, showing them the whereabouts and movements of 30 Uber users in New York in real time. She recognized half of the people listed and texted one of them, entrepreneur Peter Sims, revealing that she knew his current whereabouts.” Read More ›
Uber and Other Tech Firms Know Lots About You — Should You Worry?
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
“The Internet relies on highly targeted ads based on massive surveilliance of everything we do online,” [said law professor Neil Richards]. Companies like Uber that provide real-world services have even greater treasure troves of data. “Under the happy facade of the ‘sharing economy’ are incredibly powerful information-fueled entities with an enormous amount of information about individuals. … The vast amount of information being captured, assessed and monetized changes the relationship between companies and individuals. It gives them much more power.” Read More ›
Whose Privacy Will Uber Violate Next? Why Its Latest Bad Behavior Matters
by Alexander B. Howard, Wired
Think through the potential issues of Uber knowing who its riders are, when, and where, and what they are likely to have been doing. … Strong conclusions can be drawn from the details of an Uber travel log, as Uber has itself noted when discussing what it calls a “Ride of Glory,” defined as “anyone who took a ride between 10pm and 4am on a Friday or Saturday night, and then took a second ride from within 1/10th of a mile of the previous nights’ drop-off point 4-6 hours later (enough for a quick night’s sleep).” Read More ›
The Sharing Economy: 21st Century Technology, 19th Century Worker Protections
by Amanda Armstrong, In These Times
Uber’s intensive lobbying over the summer reduced AB 2293 to a shadow of its original self. As noted by the Consumer Federation of California, in its final form the bill establishes insurance minimums far below those required of taxi, limo, and other companies that provide similar services. But the bill was flawed even at its inception, as it never sought to protect workers. AB 2293 makes drivers legally responsible for carrying liability insurance for passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists, while withholding from drivers and their family members guarantees of compensation or support in the event that they are injured or killed on the job. Read More ›
Uber-rich transportation firms should be liable for death or injury
Update 8/27: The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) today removed its support for Assembly Bill 2293 (Bonilla) due to changes in the insurance coverage proposed for transportation network companies (TNCs). “An earlier version of AB 2293 which CFC supported mandated TNC coverage of one million dollars per [incident]. … Read More ›
Uber targets lawmaker behind insurance bill
by Cheryl Miller, The Recorder (San Francisco)
Uber Technologies Inc. sent mailers to constituents of Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, whose AB 2293 would force transport network drivers to carry $750,000 in liability insurance during the so-called Period One phase when they’ve turned on their apps but haven’t been matched yet with a rider. It’s not uncommon for interest groups to flood constituents’ mailboxes and answering machines in an attempt to pressure key lawmakers on a big issue. But a single company going directly after a bill author is a particularly aggressive move. Read More ›
Uber, Lyft setback: Insurance chief backs proposal to hike coverage requirements
by Patrick Hoge, San Francisco Business Times
An insurance gap was highlighted last New Year’s Eve when a driver seeking passengers in San Francisco with the UberXd smartphone application open struck and killed a little girl. Uber argues it isn’t liable because the driver didn’t have a ride order at the time. The girl’s parents sued; their attorney said the driver’s insurance only allowed for maximum payouts of $15,000 per person and a maximum of $30,000, the California minimum. Read More ›