How does auto insurance work for Uber drivers?

Recently, we all are talking about Uber, you might have signed up to drive for the services to earn some extra money. You may wonder about the implications when it comes to insuring your car and when an accident happens, you will be covered. Continue reading the steps you need to take to insure so you don’t run into any insurance surprises.

What is Uber?

Uber is a ride-sharing service (sometimes referred to as “ride-hailing”) that competes with taxis and black car services. Passengers hail a car registered at Uber Car Rental from the smartphone app and you are linked to a vehicle type you have selected to pick you up, often for less than the cost of a traditional taxi.

Uber has several commercially-licensed black car services – having a product called UberX. UberX allows local drivers to get the notifications on the Uber app by transporting passengers in their non-luxurious cars.

According to the business perspective, Uber works similar to taxi companies in that they do not operate or own a car and drivers are not directly employed by them. However, unlike traditional taxi companies, almost anyone can drive for Uber car rental and competitors like Lyft, Sidecar, etc. In some states, the eligibility requirements for Uber drivers are appropriate to age, health, car insurance, completion of a driving test, and passing a background check.

Driving for UberX could overturn your personal auto insurance policy

If you have a personal auto insurance policy, it would not provide you coverage for you if you drive for a service like UberX. As the personal car insurance policies have a list of omissions and often include “driving for hire.” If you are driving for UberX or a similar service, you are required to check with your insurance company to confirm whether your policy covers this commercial driving or not. If it does not, you need to consider purchasing supplemental commercial auto insurance, though, for many part-time drivers, this is not financially feasible.

Uber provides auto insurance coverage when the app is on

Uber restricts all the drivers to have car insurance and provides supplemental insurance coverage only at the time when Uber app is on. When a driver has turned the Uber app off, the driver is covered by their car insurance. As the driver turns the app on, a low level of liability insurance becomes active. When the driver accepts the trip, a higher level of coverage becomes active and it stays active when the passenger exits the vehicle. Back in few times, Uber had offered coverage only when the passenger is taking the ride. However, after a series of accidents the company updated its policy which resulted in various lawsuits.

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