Two giants of the ridesharing industry, Uber and Lyft, appear to be using Hawaiian-based captive insurance companies as part of their risk management strategy.
Hawaiian public records show that Pacific Valley Insurance, a captive registered in September 2013 and managed by Marsh, has Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green and co-founder, president and vice chairman John Zimmer listed as its directors.
While the records also show Alexa Insurance, registered March 2014 and managed by Aon, has Uber’s ex-head of finance Gautam Gupta and former Uber lawyer Yoo Salle listed as directors.
Lyft’s initial public offering (IPO) filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that the company utilises its “wholly owned captive insurance subsidiary” to “insure or reinsure costs including auto liability, uninsured and underinsured motorist, auto physical damage and general business liabilities up to certain limits”.
The possibility of ridesharing companies utilising captives was discussed at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association Conference in 2018.
Speaking at the conference, Peter Tomopoulos, senior manager of Deloitte Consulting’s actuarial, rewards and analytics, suggested there was an opportunity for could be an opportunity for captives.
He said: “Large companies like Uber, Lyft and car manufacturers themselves own very big fleets and will be large enough that they can self-insure, only going to the commercial market for reinsurance.”
“Any company along the supply chain may benefit from captives or other risk management options, and we may see car manufacturers pooling their risks together.”
“All these new risks will create opportunities for captives.”