In the short amount of time that it took for Uber and Lyft to become as popular as they are today, one thing that most people didn’t really stop to think about is whether or not drivers are actually insured under an insurance policy that will cover them in the event of an accident while driving for the rideshare companies. It is a common misconception that Uber and Lyft provide their drivers with full coverage insurance but that is not the case. Many Lyft and Uber drivers who don’t fully understand how important rideshare insurance is continue to drive for the rideshare companies, and may as well be considered an uninsured driver and a public safety concern.
An Uber or Lyft driver who is covered under a personal auto insurance policy most likely believes that they are insured correctly, only to find out after having an accident, that their insurance company has denied their claim because the accident took place while the driver was in the accident while driving for a rideshare company. This renders the Uber or Lyft driver as an uninsured motorist, even though they did have an active personal auto insurance policy, which can leave a person with a possibly totaled vehicle that their financing company will expect them to keep paying for each month, until it has been paid off. So if you are considering driving for one of the rideshare companies, be sure to keep in mind that you must have a specific rideshare insurance policy or at least an insurance policy that includes a rideshare endorsement. Lyft and Uber consider ridesharing to be split up into three stages that every driver experiences during every ride they do for the company.
Stage One:
This is anytime that the driver is in the car that is being used and has the rideshare app open online. At this status, Lyft and Uber provide contingent liability insurance coverage for up to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for injury liability, as well as $25,000 for property damage. This sounds pretty good especially if your insurance policy carries lower coverage limits. The only issue is that if you have an accident during this first period of a rideshare, you will be asked to confirm with your insurance company if they will provide liability coverage. If you don’t have a ridesharing policy, they will not provide the coverage and your policy could be canceled due to the vehicle being used for commercial purposes while being insured under a personal auto insurance policy.
Stages Two and Three:
In stage two, the app is open and online and the vehicle is being used by the driver who has accepted a ride request but the passenger is not in the vehicle yet. Once a driver has accepted a ride request or has a passenger in the vehicle (stage three), Uber and Lyft provide insurance for their drivers but only full liability coverage. Collision coverage during these stages is also contingent on your policy including collision coverage. However, this collision coverage that Lyft and Uber extends to their drivers in these two stages come with extremely high deductibles with Ubers being $1,000 and Lyft at $2,500. For some minor fender benders, you may have to come out of your pocket for the entire repair before meeting these deductibles for insurance to fix it.
Insurance policies specifically designed for rideshare drivers are now much more common with rideshare policies being available in 49 out of 50 states. Most insurance companies such as State Farm, Geico, Allstate, as well as many others offer a wide variety of insurance policies. What may come as a big surprise to you is that adding a rideshare endorsement to your existing personal insurance policy is much more inexpensive then you might think. On average, adding a rideshare endorsement to your policy can range between an extra $5 – $20 per month and is based on how much coverage you decide to carry, making this as simple as it can get. Either risk paying for personal insurance that does no good for a rideshare driver and could leave you with a mountain of debt as well as a totaled vehicle or spend an extra $20 on rideshare insurance and know that you, your passengers as well as your property and others properties are protected.
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