As rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft continue to expand, more and more people are entering the gig economy as drivers. If you have turned to these apps as a source of income, we at Curtis Helms Insurance strongly urge you to get Uber/Lyft insurance for your vehicle. In this article, we’ll go over some of the reasons why this insurance is essential for rideshare drivers.
- Your Personal Policy Won’t Protect You- Most personal auto insurance policies only cover you during your everyday driving, and not when you are driving for money. Not only are you unlikely to receive coverage for any accidents that happen in the course of a ridesharing assignment, but your private insurer may even cancel your policy if they discover that you drive your car for cash. Uber/Lyft insurance is designed to cover you during your rideshare job so that you can work without risking your car or your policy.
- How Uber/Lyft Insurance Works- Before you get Uber/Lyft insurance coverage, we at Curtis Helms Insurance want to make sure that you understand how it works. When you have rideshare insurance, when that policy covers you and when your personal policy covers you depends on what phase of the rideshare process you are currently in. When your app is turned off, you are in insurance period 0, and your personal policy applies. That changes when you turn the app on and start waiting for requests (period 1), at which point your personal policy won’t cover you unless it includes rideshare coverage, and your rideshare employer’s coverage is limited to liability only. When you drive to pick up a passenger and when you are taking them to their destination (periods 2 and 3), your Uber/Lyft insurance policy is in full force, and will cover any incidents that take place during that time.
We at Curtis Helms Insurance hope that this article has been helpful, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you have any more questions about Uber/Lyft insurance.