The Company is all set to enhance the driver–partner experience.
Uber is gearing up to grow its business with the appointment of its new CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi. The company culture had been on a downslide with several cases of sexual harassment, drivers’ protests, exit of top officials, legal issues, political pressure, and so on. The new CEO is expected to resolve the issues plaguing the Company soon.
In India, where the Company has completed four years of operation, Uber has decided to extend its support to cab drivers by providing free-of-cost life insurance from September 1.
The insurance plan will help drivers, aged between 18 to 65, to get a coverage of Rs 5 lakh in case of death or permanent disability. In cases of hospitalisation, they will get a cover of up to Rs 2 lakh with a sublimit of up to Rs 50,000 for outpatient treatment while they are logged on the Uber app and available for trip requests, en route or on a trip with Uber.
This free life insurance plan is going to have a positive impact on the morale of the drivers and on the Company’s growth, considering that India is one of the largest markets for Uber.
Uber has partnered with ICICI Lombard General Insurance to provide the insurance coverage.
With 4,50,000 drivers in India, this plan is going to attract more drivers for Uber, making it the best employer. The insurance plan for its drivers has been launched in other countries as well, such as Myanmar and Indonesia.
In addition, Uber is also trying to create an excellent driver–partner experience by introducing services, such as heat maps, pause requests, driver destinations and in-app chat.
According to head of central operations, Uber India, Pradeep Parameswaran, the Company is bringing in innovations and partnerships to show its commitment to listening, acting and enabling the drivers to experience ‘apnapan’ when driving for Uber.
Uber will bring in other services and perks as well to engage its driver partners in the near future, and to make itself the first choice for drivers.