Tag Archives: airbnb

App Tracks Drivers

Apps Track Performance of Drivers

Car Apps Test Tracking of Drivers
By Douglas MacMillan of Wall Street Journal

Driver Eva Nunez recently was driving for Shuddle, a ride-hailing service for families, when she says she slammed on the brakes to avoid a dog.

The dog was unharmed, but Ms Nunez later was reprimanded by Shuddle, which detected the sudden stop using the accelerometer sensor in her smartphone. In an e-mailed report that details her driving performance each week, the company noted the incident’s location and warned her to brake more gradually.

The same smartphones used by more than a million drivers of ride-hailing services to pick up passengers and collect fares are now tracking when they speed, cut corners, brake suddenly or send texts while at the wheel.

Several companies including Uber Technologies are testing ways to collect this data by uniting sensor readings in phones with geolocation data and traffic patterns.

Click here to read the full article

 

Sharing Symposium Toronto

Insuring the Sharing Economy

The first ever Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium was held on  December, 2nd in Toronto. The Canadian Sharing Economy Symposium drills down into how the new Sharing Economy platform business model is disrupting traditional businesses. Melissa Neis, Vice President of Parr Insurance was one of the panelist present at the Symposium. Important questions were directed towards Melissa which tackle the a lot of issues of the emerging Sharing Economy. Questions such as:

What does it take to build an insurance program for the sharing economy and what are some of the difficulties you face?
What are some things that businesses in the sharing economy could do to either improve their current insurance program or to ensure that they get a program that best suits their business model?

The keynote speakers were Marina Lao, Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission and Tim Hudak, Member of Provincial Parliament, Niagara West-Glanbrook. This conference brings together the key change makers from multiple sectors and perspectives to discuss how the rapidly evolving sharing economy model has global and local implications that are changing markets, cities, and lives.

While this is opening up a number of opportunities, it is also raising complex legal and policy issues such as how best to address market failures; and manage concerns over consumer safety and tax compliance. This panel discussed as well the critical issue of labour in the sharing economy: are participants “employees” or “independent contractors”;  the problems and opportunities posed by these new labour relationships; and what legal and policy changes may be needed in response.

For more information on insuring businesses in the sharing economy, contact us today!

Parr Insurance Brokerage
2157 N Damen #2B
Chicago, IL 60647
P.773.489.3001
Melissa@parrinsurancebrokerage.com