‘Fraud, plain and simple’

Ride-service drivers have been defrauding Manitoba Public Insurance by improperly insuring their vehicles as for personal use.

The public insurer and the City of Winnipeg, which regulates ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, discovered the widespread fraud after MPI conducted a review in December last year.

“When a driver changes their coverage from ride-share insurance to a personal vehicle coverage and continues to operate as a ride-share driver, that is fraud, plain and simple,” said MPI chief executive officer Satvir Jatana at a news conference Thursday.

MPI’s review looked at a random sample of 408 ride-hailing vehicles and found 108 were operating without the proper vehicle-for-hire insurance coverage. In order to register with the city as a ride-service driver, a vehicle must have such insurance and proof must be provided to the ride-booking company.

After being approved to work as Uber or Lyft drivers with proof of the proper insurance, the drivers would then change their coverage to personal all-purpose or pleasure use policies, which are as much as 50 per cent cheaper, said Jatana.

“When you and I insure a vehicle for personal use, our (yearly) premium could be around $1,500,” said Jatana. “Whereas if we choose to drive for a ride share, the vehicle is meant to be more exposed to risk as it’s on the road more often. That cost can be well over $3,000.”

Between February and August, officials identified about 3,000 ride-service vehicles that did not have the proper insurance coverage and prevented them from operating in the city.

“When you and I insure a vehicle for personal use, our (yearly) premium could be around $1,500… if we choose to drive for a ride share… that cost can be well over $3,000.”

The number of registered vehicles varies, but there’s typically about 4,000 to 5,000 in the city in any given month, said the city government’s vehicles for hire manager Grant Heather.

Jatana and Heather stressed that the major ride-hailing companies — Uber and Lyft — want their drivers properly insured and regulated and that the companies worked collaboratively with regulatory officials in Manitoba when alerted to the issue.

“When a driver with a vehicle wants to become registered in the industry, there’s a number of background checks and pieces of information that have to be supplied. Proper insurance at that time is verified by the companies,” said Heather.

“So, it’s fair to say that these people were providing proper insurance documents at the time of registration and subsequently making adjustments to their policy after the fact… It’s not a case of not knowing.”

“It is impacting all Manitobans, both in collection of premiums and not paying their fair share of claims and premiums essentially.”

MPI’s initial review found about 1,200 policies carried insufficient coverage between December 2025 and February. The Crown corporation was underpaid about $260,000 in premiums during that period.

As many as 36 collision claims were filed between April 1, 2025, and April 1 this year by drivers without the proper vehicle-for-hire insurance, MPI said. Those amounted to a total of $189,000 in claims.

“We’re turning every stone to ensure that we understand the full picture of this and more importantly, prevent it from going forward,” she said.

The CEO said the issue has indirectly affected regular ratepayers.

“It is impacting all Manitobans, both in collection of premiums and not paying their fair share of claims and premiums essentially,” she said.

Heather said improperly insured drivers can also face sanctions under the city’s vehicle-for-hire bylaw.

MPI lawyers are looking into the corporation’s best options to recover the money, Jatana said.

“We’re accountable to Manitobans and it is our responsibility to pursue all options to ensure that we keep our premiums low, affordable, stable, and sustainable for all,” she said.

Asked whether officials have discussed the fraud with law enforcement, Jatana said: “We will (use) all options that are afforded to us under the legislation.”

Jatana said the city and MPI are working on strengthening oversight to prevent similar fraud from occurring in the future, including enhanced insurance verification processes, requiring declarations from customers about what vehicles are to be used for, increasing data sharing between MPI, the city and ride-hailing companies and improving the claims screening process.

Jatana said that could include flagging any vehicle involved in a collision that has been insured as a vehicle for hire in the past for further scrutiny.

Spokespeople for Uber and Lyft both said their companies worked with MPI and city officials amid the crackdown and will continue to do so to make sure drivers meet all insurance and regulatory requirements.

An Uber spokeswoman said it was time for Manitoba to adopt the model used in other Canadian jurisdictions, in which ride-hailing services purchase umbrella insurance coverage for trips on the company’s platform, instead of requiring individual drivers to have vehicle-for-hire coverage.

“This more straightforward approach, which we’ve raised over the past six years, helps ensure appropriate coverage while reducing costs, complexity, and the risk of inadvertent non-compliance,” said the spokeswoman.

Leaders in the traditional local taxi industry applauded the crackdown.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com