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The New York Black Car Operators’ Injury Compensation Fund, commonly referred to as The Black Car Fund (BCF) is a not-for-profit organization created by New York State to provide workers’ compensation insurance to for-hire drivers affiliated with The BCF’s Member Bases. They also provide a full suite of health, safety, and education-related benefits that protect for-hire drivers both on and off the job. Now in its 27th year, The BCF has grown to over 500 Member Bases and provides coverage to upwards of 125,000 drivers throughout the State of New York. They are the nation’s only fully self-funded, self-insured, and self-administered not-for-profit workers’ compensation provider.
Services include the following:
The BCF provides Workers’ Compensation coverage in the event that an Eligible Driver is involved in an accident while on the job for a BCF Member Base. An "Eligible Driver” is a driver who is affiliated with and dispatched by a Member Base of The Black Car Fund.
Additionally, as per state law, The Fund uses a small portion of the passenger surcharge to provide additional health-related benefits to Eligible Drivers. Administered through the Drivers Benefits program, these benefits include an Accident Disability Insurance Plan, Personal Accident Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Hospital Indemnity Insurance, a health navigation service, Life Line Screening, a hearing care program, virtual primary care, vision coverage, dental insurance, prescription, urgent care, and diagnostic imaging discounts, as well as a mental health and wellness program.
The Fund also pays Eligible Drivers $400 once every three years to complete their NY State-Certified Defensive Driving Course. Eligible Drivers can also receive a payment of $250 to complete The Fund’s Wellness STEP program, once every three years. Most recently, The Fund introduced the Road Instruction and Driver Education Course (RIDE) which covers all the benefits offered to drivers and can be completed online or in-person, for a payment of $125 or $250, respectively.
The Fund has also established a $100,000 Driver Death Benefit. In the event that an Eligible Driver loses their life while on the job, their family is entitled to a lump sum payment of $100,000, in addition to any other death benefit that the family may receive under NYS Workers’ Compensation Law. Additionally, The Fund provides a $100,000 Accidental Death Benefit which provides a lump sum to an Eligible Driver's beneficiary in the event that they die in a covered non-work accident.
How The Fund works:
As per the Fund's founding New York State statute, any base that does more than 90% of its business on a non-cash basis, and owns less than 50% of the vehicles it dispatches, is required to become a Member Base of The Black Car Fund. The Black Car Fund is funded entirely by passengers in the form of a small passenger surcharge that is assessed on every ride dispatched by a Member Base. This surcharge is collected by Member Bases and remitted to The Fund on a monthly basis.
For more information, please contact Lionel Morales, Communications, Outreach and Marketing Manager at lmorales@nybcf.org.
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