Are you looking into driving for Uber, Lyft or Sidecar and wondering what your insurance needs are? There are a few things you need to consider when making an insurance purchase.
- Uber’s Insurance Requirements
- Your state laws and their insurance requirements
- What you need to protect yourself if you should have a claim.
Uber Insurance Requirements
Let’s look at the Uber Insurance Requirements. When it comes to Uber, the insurance requirements for UberX, UberBLACK, UberSUV, and uberTAXI are different. With UberBLACK, UberSUV, and uberTAXI they require you to carry a commercial insurance policy that meets the minimum local requirements of your state. If you are taking a ride in a personal vehicle with UberX they require you to have insurance and then Uber carriers a $1 Million excess umbrella over that.
In California Uber is advising their UberX drivers that personal insurance is sufficient to cover them, however that isn’t the case. Your personal auto policy could exclude commercial work and the Uber Umbrella policies do not cover medical bills or car repairs.
With Lyft and Sidecar the issue can be the same, you need a Commercial Auto Policy to cover both your vehicle and you in case
Ride Sharing State Laws
Every state is different when it comes to insurance, and with Ride Sharing being new each state is looking at it in a different way. The requirements in California and different from Colorado and every state can have different rules and change them at any time.
Uber Insurance Needs
With all of this what do you need to protect yourself? A Commercial Auto Policy that covers passenger transportation (for hire insurance) with the coverages in place to protect yourself, your passengers, and your vehicle.
- Auto Liability Insurance – With Auto Liability Insurance you need $1,000,000 of insurance to protect yourself at a minimum.
- Uninsured & Underinsured Motorists Coverage – We recommend this to match the auto liability limits. This covers you if you are hit by an uninsured motorist or someone that does not have enough insurance to pay the claim.
- Medical Payments – We will always include this at the maximum amount the insurance company will allow. This covers you and your passengers for medical payments no matter who is at fault.
- Comprehensive & Collision – These are the coverages that insure your car from an accident that is your fault. If you don’t have uninsured motorists coverage this insurance will also cover your claim, but it will count against your record while a Uninsured Motorists claim will not.
Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar may require certain limits of commercial auto insurance, but you need to make sure you are getting the right insurance to cover you for all situations. You need to make sure your personal auto policy will cover you if you get into a wreck. We do write this type of coverage and can get you a Commercial Auto Quote. The rates vary by state and so do the insurance carriers. With multiple companies we can get you the best rates with the right coverages.