Know THIS before you drive for Uber!
What you should know about your Auto Insurance before you drive for Uber or Lyft!
In the past few years, companies like UBER and LYFT (aka rideshare) have changed the way we travel and what food we have delivered. With just a few clicks, we can arrange a ride and leave the hassles of driving behind us. We no longer need to worry about finding and paying for parking. We don’t need to find a designated driver or navigate unfamiliar streets when traveling in a new city. We don’t even have to venture out to get food anymore.
On the flip side of this, rideshare companies rely on everyday drivers and their vehicles to be the fleet. This provides drivers with income and keeps the cost down for the rideshare. But it brings up the question, AM I INSURED while I’m driving? The answer to this is YES and NO. Of course, it isn’t a simple answer, and here are a few things you need to know before you sign-up to drive.
- While you have a paying customer in your vehicle, you are insured by the rideshare company. Most companies are providing $1,000,000 of liability and your Comprehensive & Collision deductible is $1000.
- Your insurance provides coverage for your vehicle while the app is turned off. This means if you are not looking for riders and the app isn’t open.
- Unless you have added coverage for Ridesharing to your policy, you DO NOT have coverage from when you turn the app on to pick-up a ride until you have the customer in the vehicle. If you are in an accident after you have accepted a ride and before you pick the rider up you could have NO COVERAGE. This is often called a “GAP” in coverage and needs to be covered.
- Just because you are covered for providing rideshare does not mean you have coverage for delivering food (Uber Eats, Door Dash, Grubhub, etc…) Several carriers are more than happy to cover you for transporting people but they are not okay if you are delivering food.
So what should you do?
- Call your current insurance agent/carrier and make sure you have coverage for Ridesharing. If they tell you do, ask them to show you where it is shown on your policy. If you don’t, ask them to add it.
- If you are driving for Uber Eats and such, ask them if you are covered for this risk as well.
- Go out and meet new people and have fun making a little extra money.
If you have any questions, please give us a call, and we’d love to answer your questions for you.