We were curious about what insurance providers such as Geico, USAA, State Farm and others would say if we told them we were driving for a company such as Lyft, Sidecar and uberX. So this morning we called them and asked.
Each of the agents we spoke with said the exact same thing: If an insurance company finds out that a driver on a personal auto liability policy decides to drive commercially for uberX, Lyft, or Sidecar, they would immediately cancel the driver’s policy. Is working a part-time job worth being dropped from your insurance? Would you really want to only find out after an accident that your policy is cancelled because the insurance company saw that pink mustache in the accident photos?
And here’s an interesting little kicker we found out from one insurance broker: There’s a growing concern about college students who drive for these companies but who swap cars with their friends.
The issue, we were told, is that so many college students are on their parent’s insurance plans. One agent told us about multiple situations in which college students have been sharing cars in order to make money as drivers. So when a student borrows his buddy’s car, he’s actually putting his buddy’s parents at risk, because they are the ones whose insurance policy is on the line if the vehicle is in an accident.
But hey, don’t take our word for it. If you are thinking of driving for one of these so-called ridesharing services, call your insurance provider. Better to ask the right questions before you get hung out to dry.
Each of the agents we spoke with said the exact same thing: If an insurance company finds out that a driver on a personal auto liability policy decides to drive commercially for uberX, Lyft, or Sidecar, they would immediately cancel the driver’s policy. Is working a part-time job worth being dropped from your insurance? Would you really want to only find out after an accident that your policy is cancelled because the insurance company saw that pink mustache in the accident photos?
And here’s an interesting little kicker we found out from one insurance broker: There’s a growing concern about college students who drive for these companies but who swap cars with their friends.
The issue, we were told, is that so many college students are on their parent’s insurance plans. One agent told us about multiple situations in which college students have been sharing cars in order to make money as drivers. So when a student borrows his buddy’s car, he’s actually putting his buddy’s parents at risk, because they are the ones whose insurance policy is on the line if the vehicle is in an accident.
But hey, don’t take our word for it. If you are thinking of driving for one of these so-called ridesharing services, call your insurance provider. Better to ask the right questions before you get hung out to dry.