[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The courier market has been growing since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Traffic accidents involving paid transportation using regular personal vehicles have also increased significantly. However, cases of subscribing to paid transportation risk coverage riders are extremely rare, making related measures urgent.
On the 22nd, the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, affiliated with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, announced that an analysis of the status of paid transportation risk coverage rider subscriptions and traffic accidents occurring among subscribers reported to Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance over the past three years showed that the accident rate for personal paid transportation was 35.6%, which is lower than the accident rate for professional courier vehicles (57.4%) but more than twice that of regular personal vehicles (17.3%).
Less than 1% of vehicles subscribed to the paid transportation risk coverage rider, which allows for comprehensive insurance processing in the event of an accident.
As of the end of September, the number of personal vehicles registered with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance under the paid transportation risk coverage rider was 138, with 49 accidents reported, resulting in an accident rate of 35.6%. This is more than twice the accident rate of 17.3% for regular personal vehicles.
Since the sale of the rider available for vehicles with six seats or fewer on August 6, the number of new subscribers has not shown a significant increase, totaling 32. Considering Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's market share of paid transportation risk coverage riders compared to all insurers over the past three years, the total number of subscribers is estimated to be 550.
The blind spot in damage protection, such as the economic burden on drivers caused by personal paid transportation accidents, remains unresolved. The institute also pointed out that when vehicles without the rider handle accidents through automobile insurance, there is a high likelihood of insurance fraud by concealing the fact of paid transportation to receive comprehensive insurance coverage.
Yoo Sang-yong, senior researcher at the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, said, "When joining personal passenger car delivery platforms, subscribing to the paid transportation risk coverage rider should be mandatory to ensure maximum protection against traffic accident damages."
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