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Fly News Breaks for October 10, 2019
ALL, PGR, JRVR, UBER
Oct 10, 2019 | 07:52 EDT
BofA/Merrill analyst Justin Post says James River Group (JRVR) ending early its insurance policies issued to Rasier LLC, a subsidiary of Uber Technologies (UBER), is a negative for Uber "on the surface." James River insures Uber drivers in 20 states and was the smallest of the four insurers that Uber works with in the U.S., Post tells investors in a research note. The news is a negative given the potential that the underwriting costs of Uber's business are proving to be higher than expected, says Post. However, the analyst does not anticipate a material change in Uber's insurance costs. Uber's business will likely switch to one of its other carriers, Farmers, Progressive (PGR) or Allstate (ALL), according to Post. Those three insurers are likely increasing their interest in and exposure to ridesharing and gig-economy insurance, increasingly competing for business, says Post, who thinks this could maintain or decrease gig-economy and rideshare insurance premiums over time. The analyst keeps a Buy rating on Uber with a $53 price target.