It looks like consumers have emerged the biggest winners in the battle for supremacy in MENA’s cut-throat competitive ride-share market. Besides a wide variety of discount offers and other perks, now the big guns in the industry are offering insurance coverage to their captains and passengers.
First, it was Uber, and now Careem has followed suit by rolling out its own in-ride insurance coverage across all 15 markets it currently operates in.
The move was announced last week via an official blog post wherein the company promised up to $20,000 in damage for death or serious injuries resulting from accidents during Careem rides. All captains operating the company’s fleet will come under this insurance program from the moment they’re online and available to pick up passengers.
“By offering global in-ride insurance in all markets we ensure that our customers and captains always have peace of mind when using Careem’s platform, and we offer this service for free as we believe it is our responsibility and the right of our customers and captains,” noted the company in their announcement.
It is not yet clear whether the insurance program is applicable to passengers/captains of all types of vehicles or just a few select builds and models.
The offering is by and similar to what Uber is offering through its insurance program. The only major difference is that in Uber’s insurance for drivers, the beneficiaries are entitled to a lump sum amount in case of permanent disability and daily payments in case of less severe or recoverable injuries.