BlaBlaCar and AXA launch first-of-its-kind ridesharing insurance product
May 18, 2015
published at 2:00 AM CEST
BlaBlaCar's members will benefit from free additional insurance cover provided by AXA. BlaBlaCar and AXA have worked together to tailor the insurance product written by AXA especially to long-distance ridesharing in Europe.
Today, BlaBlaCar announced a European partnership with AXA, to make ridesharing even more reliable for its millions of members. Having made ridesharing a mainstream activity, BlaBlaCar now goes further and offers its members tailored, free of charge, additional insurance coverage, underwritten by AXA, launching first in France and the United Kingdom.
An innovative insurance product tailored especially to long-distance ridesharing
BlaBlaCar has worked with AXA in France to tailor this innovative insurance product underwritten by AXA especially for long-distance ridesharing and as an addition to drivers' existing insurance policies, (see box). It includes:
- Breakdown cover and onward travel. BlaBlaCar journeys now include breakdown cover, which consists of towing the vehicle to the nearest garage if it cannot be repaired on the roadside. Passengers and drivers are guaranteed paid-for alternative transport options to ensure they reach their destination safely if the vehicle cannot be repaired in a reasonable period of time or is stolen.
- Refund of additional excess when BlaBlaCar passengers drive. If a BlaBlaCar driver allows one of his passengers to help with the driving during a journey and an insurance claim covered by the driver's existing policy follows (where the passenger was driving at the time of the incident), then AXA now refunds the extra excess payment owed because of having the BlaBlaCar passenger as driver.
The cover is provided free of charge to all members in France every time they travel on journeys starting, stopping or ending in France and organised through BlaBlaCar's online booking system. Members are also given access to a dedicated assistance hotline, where an operator is on hand to deal with their inquiries 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A first time for ridesharing
This innovation is led jointly by BlaBlaCar and AXA, two world leaders in their respective fields, and BlaBlaCar's members can take complete advantage of this new service from today.
The BlaBlaCar app and website connects car owners who are planning to drive from one city to another and passengers who want to make the same journey at the same time. Thanks to its 20 million members, BlaBlaCar has turned long-distance ridesharing into a truly mainstream transport solution, with more than 2 million people using BlaBlaCar to travel every month. The service is available in 19 countries worldwide and is run by a team of 300 employees across the globe.
Frédéric Mazzella
CEO and Founder of BaBlaBlaCar
At the heart of BlaBlaCar is a trusted community that we have been building since day one. Today's announcement is the next step in fostering this community in order to create an ever more reliable service, by offering free additional insurance on BlaBlaCar journeys.
Nicolas Brusson
COO and Co-founder of BlaBlaCar
BlaBlaCar's partnership with AXA has been an ambitious project for both parties because of its innovative and unprecedented nature. Due to its European scale, it will bring a lot of value to millions of BlaBlaCar members. The partnership is a first step towards a much wider range of services BlaBlaCar will offer its members.
Frédéric Tardy
Chief Marketing, Digital, Data & Customer Officer of AXA Asia
City to city ridesharing is a fast growing practice across Europe with a lot of potential thanks to the money saving, environmental and social benefits it brings to members. We are certain that AXA has an important role to play in developing the practice as it relies on a trusted community which insurance can help strengthen. Our ambition is to become one of the leading sharing economy insurers which is why this partnership is key for us.
Am I already insured when I rideshare?
Yes.
Ridesharing is no different to giving a lift to a friend or family member when both parties are heading the same way and sharing the costs.
Ridesharing with BlaBlaCar allows drivers to offset their costs but not make a profit. As no profits are made, their existing insurance policy is not affected.
Passengers are covered under drivers' compulsory Third Party liability insurance. Every time a driver publishes a journey on BlaBlaCar, they are asked to confirm they hold this compulsory insurance cover.
About BlaBlaCar
BlaBlaCar is the world's leading long-distance ridesharing platform and has created a global, trusted community of drivers and passengers in 19 countries. The site and mobile apps connect people looking to travel long distances with drivers going the same way, so they can travel together and share the cost. Each passenger makes a fair contribution for their seat, and drivers cover their fuel and toll costs but do not make a profit. The platform is engineered to create a secure, trust-based community with declared identities and full member profiles. Members can even specify how chatty they are, from "Bla" to "BlaBlaBla", hence the name BlaBlaCar.
Some key figures:
- Present in 19 countries (France, Spain, UK, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, India, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Mexico)
- Mobile app downloaded more than five million times
- 300 employees... all ride sharers!
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