OREANDA-NEWS. BlaBlaCar's members will benefit from free additional insurance cover provided by AXA. BlaBlaCar and AXA have worked in partnership to tailor the insurance product especially for long-distance ridesharing in Europe.

BlaBlaCar announces today a European partnership with AXA to make ridesharing even more reliable for its millions of members. Having made ridesharing a mainstream activity, BlaBlaCar goes further and offers its members a tailored free of charge, additional insurance cover, launched first in France and the United Kingdom.

In France, BlaBlaCar have worked with AXA to tailor this innovative insurance product especially for long-distance ridesharing as an addition to drivers' existing insurance policies. It includes:

Breakdown cover and onward travel. BlaBlaCar journeys now include breakdown cover which also 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 that they reach their destination safely if the vehicle cannot be repaired in a reasonable delay.
BlaBlaCar passengers are insured to drive. If a BlaBlaCar driver allows one of his passengers to help with the driving during a journey and an insurance claim follows (where the passenger was driving at the time of the incident), then BlaBlaCar 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 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 queries 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 BlaBlaCar says: "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 adds: "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 and Distribution Officer of the AXA Group says: "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."