SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog today called on leaders in the California legislature to get answers from Uber about why it didn't disclose that the vast majority of its insurance payments are self-funded and it has amassed a huge reserve of $12.5 billion. 

Last year, Uber's top public policy executive misrepresented the company's insurance structure to the California legislature in 2025 when securing a reduction in uninsured motorists coverage through SB 371. Uber executives were also paid bonuses for SB 371's passage.

"In LA County, 45% of every fare is a straight pass-through to government-mandated insurance," Ramona Prieto, Uber's head of public policy, told the Assembly Standing Committee on Communications and Conveyance on July 16, 2025. "Let's use a trip to LAX and let's use a round number. It's $100 and you or I individually are deciding if we can afford to do that. $45 of that $100 today goes to government mandated insurance," Prieto told the Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance. 

In fact, the company was paying itself for insurance and at a rate that it set and allowed its reserves to grow by nearly 100% from 2023 to 2025.  Uber set up a captive insurance company, Aleka, staffed by Uber employees, to manage its self-funded reserve, which its disclosures to the SEC show accounts for 95% of the insurance payments collected. The information is documented in a new report from Consumer Watchdog, "Uber's License To Kill Insurance Scam:  How Uber Is Limiting Its Liability To Raid Its Insurance Reserves & Fund Robotaxis."

"Uber overcharged itself for insurance premiums that it claimed was bleeding its riders dry in order to secure a reprieve from a state legislative mandate," said Jamie Court, President of Consumer Watchdog. "Uber misled the legislature to reduce its responsibility for uninsured motorist collisions. Worse, Uber executives were paid bonuses to pass SB 371, incentivizing their misrepresentations. The legislature needs to get answers from Uber about how it can argue its insurance rates are too high when the company is setting its own rates and at levels that allowed its reserves to double over the last few years."

Uber is using the same false argument about insurance costs to pass federal legislation limiting its liability. 

Financial bonuses for executives to pass SB 371 were specifically named in its proxy, as was insurance reform advocacy. Insurance reform was a specific performance goal for Jill Hazelbaker, Uber's Chief Marketing Officer and SVP, Public Affairs; Chief Legal Officer Tony West; President and COO Andrew Macdonald and CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah. The bonus payment added roughly $516,000 to Hazelbaker's pay. Uber promoted Hazelbaker on May 11th to President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. The promotion came with a $5,000,000 equity grant — $3,750,000 in Restricted Stock Units plus a $1,250,000 stock option award, per Uber's 8-K filing.

Ramona Prieto has a "shadow" executive bonus strategy not disclosed to shareholders. Her fiancé Juan Rodriguez is a principal in the campaign consulting firm Bearstar and the media buying firm Polaris. The companies were paid a total of $9.2 million, thus far, in 2026 for consulting and advertising payments for Uber's California ballot measure to limit accident victims' right to medical recovery and contingency fee attorneys.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uber-misrepresented-its-insurance-structure-to-legislature-to-get-reduced-uninsured-motorist-coverage-report-requires-answers-from-uber-consumer-watchdog-says-302782200.html

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog