Even with public health care you're going to need money.
England has public health care, but you're going to want a better prosthetic and you're going to want money to make adaptations to your home over what will be available. And you're going to want money to cover your reduced income while you're off work.
So liability insurance - isn't that generally required by law in European countries? I know it's illegal to own a car w/o such insurance in Denmark, for instance.
Yes, everyone has personal insurance that covers your car for personal use. You can't register a car without that in all places I know of.
The issue is they also must have insurance that covers them for business use when they are using their car for business. Every personal insurance policy I've read says it isn't in effect when the car is being used for business purposes. If I tried to file a claim under my personal automobile policy it would go something like this
"...and you were driving for Uber at the time? Yeah...lol."
In 'Europe' also there are many damages you will be left hanging with if whoever caused your damage is not insured. If you think you're golden when something happens to you because you live in Europe, you're in for a rude awakening in case something would happen. There are many personal injury lawyers across Europe. They just don't make as much money because of no punititve damages.
(Example off the cuff, was on tv a while ago: girl gets ankle damaged in accident at car show. Yes the foot gets the plaster 'for free', but here are some other costs that aren't covered by national insurance: travel costs, time off for parents, adaptation to the house to accommodate reduced mobility, wheelchair-accessible car, ...) Please tell me if I'm wrong, but I know of no social healthcare system that covers such costs).
I'm not sure why you keep mentioning the US, I'm not talking about the US.
The only reason I mention the US is because Uber takes care of the insurance for Uber drivers in the US, but they don't do that anywhere else. Everywhere else the drivers are expected to buy the insurance. In some places you know that Uber are regulated as part of the taxi system and so you know the drivers will have bought insurance as part of that regulation. But that's not everywhere.
Properly insured cars are really important, even when you live in an area with public health care and welfare systems. There are many costs involved in severe injury that are only minimally covered by public welfare.
This is not a super rare event! About 1,700 people die each year in road traffic accidents in Great Britain. (And that's the lowest it's been since records began). Very many more are severely injured.
In England you'll get minimal help from public welfare systems - you'll get a prosthetic limb but you'll want a better one, and that will cost. You'll want to make adaptations to your home - you'll get some help, but you'll want more and better adaptations. Depending how you're employed you'll get some statutory sick pay or disability benefit, but these are likely to be much less than you were earning. (Statutory sick pay is £88.25 per week for 28 weeks.)
My original point was that Uber because of it's use of technology have solved the problems that would normally require licenses. I.e. it's as safe to drive as any other service.
Insurance is a minor problem which 1) can easily be fixed, 2) isn't really a problem with the uber model.
Yes, sure, the medical bills will be paid to an extent. But what about you losing your income? Making your home fit for being disabled? Rehabilitation? (Public system pays only the bare minimum here).
Well, in my country at least (NZ), everyone automatically has insurance to cover all of that for accidents. It's called ACC. In exchange for that, we have a "no-fault" system so you can't sue someone for an accident making the concept of liability insurance for accidents something that doesn't exist here.
That's nice for people getting injured. Insurance then becomes something you get to protect yourself, not because you're required to have it to protect other people. If you crash into an expensive car, you're still on the hook for the cost of that unless you have your own insurance. But that's a decision you can make yourself if you're worried about the risk of causing expensive damage - no need to worry about whether every car you go near is insured.
Does public healthcare help you if you need to install a wheelchair ramp in your home? Or other lifestyle modifications that are a result of injury? Such as increased costs of transportation? Lost wages?
