If You Get Paid to Drive Your Own Car You MUST Have the Right Insurance

Recently one of my sons was considering driving for Uber Eats. He loves to drive and thought this would be a great way to make some extra cash. Since I spend the greater part of each day fighting with insurance companies my first thoughts were - “what will happen if he is in a crash?  Will our insurance cover it?  Does Uber Eats provide coverage?  Do we need to buy additional insurance?”

So here is the problem:  personal insurance may NOT cover you if you are involved in a crash or your vehicle is stolen while you are making deliveries or driving passengers.  For anyone contemplating earning some cash driving for any commercial reason, you really should contact your insurance broker or company BEFORE you start driving and find out whether you will be covered if something happens. 

You also want to find out whether the company you are driving for will provide you with any insurance coverage.  Some do, some don’t.  If they do, make sure you enroll for it and find out if it will cost you anything to do so.  And, find out what it covers, and how much.  Never rely on a “you are covered” promise without seeing the actual paperwork.  

We recently had a call from someone who was driving a personal car, on personal time, but had the rideshare app open.  She was in a crash.  Her personal insurance company said that because the app was open, she was technically working and therefore the crash was not covered.  Don’t let this happen to you!  

If you have questions about any of this give me a call.  I have spent a lot of time looking at insurance policies and can let you know if you are in good shape when you hit the road.

If you were hit by a commercial driver either while in a car, on a motorcycle or as a pedestrian you will be faced with similar issues.  Figuring out who to make a claim against can be confusing and can have serious consequences if it is not done right from the beginning.  Again, if you find yourself in this situation give me a call and we will get it straightened out for you.