The Commercial Auto Insurance Gap For Uber Drivers

Uber is the most famous of the emerging companies that facilitate ride sharing between drivers and passengers. The company says that its active driver base has increased from about zero in 2012 to over 160,000 in 2014. The company satisfies both the need for vehicle owners to make extra money and ride sharers to access inexpensive and convenient transportation. This might provide a good opportunity for some vehicle owners to earn extra cash, but drivers need to make certain that they carry the right business insurance for this new kind of enterprise.

The Ride-Sharing Insurance Gap

Typical personal car insurance policies exclude commercial activities. Whenever people use their personal cars for business, it's important to make sure that vehicles are also covered by proper business insurance. This can be true for people who participate in ride-sharing or car-sharing businesses. It can also be true for all sorts of people who might use their own cars for business — such as real estate agents, small business owners and drivers who make sales calls or deliveries.

Uber does have its own commercial auto insurance policy that covers drivers while they are actively ferrying a passenger from one destination to another. However, there have been concerns that this policy has a gap that may leave drivers uninsured at times when drivers leave the app on but don't actually have a passenger in the car. In other words, while drivers are soliciting new business or driving to pick up a ride-share customer, they may not be covered.

How to Fill in Ride-Sharing Coverage Gaps

Some major car insurance providers have stepped in with products to fill this gap. These are actually personal vehicle policies that ride-sharing drivers might consider to make sure that they are covered for every mile that they drive. Since these policies have been designed to only provide this extra coverage during the gap between personal driving and actually driving customers, they are expected to be more affordable than typical commercial auto insurance policies. Anybody who makes money with one of the new peer-to-peer ride or car-sharing services should speak with an agent to make sure that they have adequate coverage.

Get the coverage you need. Call Integrity Network Insurance Group, LLC at (512) 989-6006 for more information on the commercial auto insurance policies we offer.

Have you been an Uber driver for some time? Do you have any tips or advice for new Uber drivers? Share the knowledge in the comments section below.

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