Uber has teamed up with French insurer AXA to provide insurance protection for its drivers across Europe.

The partnership expands on a scheme the two companies announced last year, offering French drivers insurance for medical expenses and accident cover.

On Wednesday, Uber announced the new scheme, Partner Protection, will cover drivers for a range of matters including injury, sickness and maternity or paternity payments.

The company said that the insurance products would cover drivers both when they are driving passengers around and when they are not.

“Partner Protection is an important step-in addressing some of the biggest concerns raised by our independent partners who rely on Uber,” Uber said in a statement Wednesday.

“But the listening doesn’t stop here. We’ll continue to ensure that the voices of the drivers and couriers are heard as we take Uber forward together.

Insurance will be available for European drivers from June 1 onwards and will cover more than 150,000 drivers in Europe.

Uber faces challenges across the continent. In November last year, a British judge ruled that its drivers should be classified as formal workers rather than self-employed. Uber has long argued that its drivers are self-employed, rather than workers employed directly by the firm.

Later that year, Europe’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, ruled that Uber should be regulated like a transportation firm rather than a digital company.

Meanwhile, Uber is fighting to maintain its operations in London, after the U.K. capital’s transport regulator decided it would strip the ride-hailing giant of its license.

Wednesday’s announcement came as Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was due to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, alongside Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Source: cnbc
Uber expands insurance coverage for drivers across Europe