Listen to this articleWe all know how shopping for affordable vehicle insurance is a pain. While many insurance companies offer very low rates, you may quickly find out that your insurance company does not cover you or your vehicle if you are involved in an accident if you drive for a Rideshare or Transportation Network Company (TNC) such as Uber, Lyft or even food delivery from Pizza Hut.
While TNCs offer drivers their own insurance policies to drivers, those insurance policies does not kick in until after your insurance policy. And even then, mostly all Insurance Policies limit how much you can drive and what kind of vehicles are insurable, Geico and State Farm, for instance. Both Geico and State Farm has Hybrid policies that cover rideshare. Geico limits the insurability of vehicles excluding large vans and buses and there is a limit to how much you can drive. State Farm limits your rideshare driving according to how much you make. With State Farm, your rideshare earnings can not equal less than half your yearly income.
While insurance companies are slowly providing rideshare endorsements and hybrid policies to drivers, they may not be available in your state. Companies like Progressive still suggests Commercial Insurance when attempting to obtain a quote online. Commercial policies are quite expensive and not be feasible for drivers in smaller markets.
I purchased commercial insurance through American Business Insurance (ABI) for the whole year of 2016. My policy was almost $200 less than what Progressive quoted me at around $550 a month. Compare that to a consumer, state minimum, full coverage policy through Liberty Mutual at $40-$50 and a consumer, state minimum, liability policy through State Farm for one of my vehicles at only $26 a month.
Check with your Agent or Provider for more information and availability.
Questions for your Insurance Agent:
- Is there a rideshare or TNC endorsement available?
- What is the cost of the endorsement?
- What are the driving limitations?
- What are the vehicle limitations?
Your Agent should go over the Deductible and Premium differences, if any, at the time of the quote. If not, ask! Don’t be uninformed.