Rideshare Insurance for TNC Drivers in Southeastern MA & South Coast MA
Whether you’re already a driver for one of the area’s popular rideshare companies or just beginning to consider signing up as a driver, Morse, of course, wants you to have the proper type and amount of car insurance to cover you and your personal vehicle.
If you secured car insurance for your personal vehicle through a local independent insurance agent, like Morse, you may be thinking that’s all the coverage you will need if you start driving for a Transportation Network Company (TNC). However, your standard car insurance policy only covers you when you’re using your car for personal reasons, like taking the kids to school, commuting to work, running errands, or hitting the highway for a summer road trip. What this policy is not designed to do is provide auto insurance coverage when you’re using your car for business purposes, which includes driving for a rideshare company.
Why a personal auto insurance policy is not the proper protection for rideshare drivers
A standard Massachusetts personal auto insurance policy includes bodily injury and property damage liability, uninsured/underinsured motorist, and personal injury protection. If you get in an accident while using your car for personal reasons, these coverages typically kick in to help you pay for many of the crash-related costs.
However, the moment you turn a TNC app “on” in your vehicle, making yourself an available rideshare driver, the coverage in your personal auto insurance policy turns “off.”
Why is this? An auto insurance company uses the following three assumptions to design, underwrite, and price a standard personal car insurance policy:
- You are using your car to drive only yourself, family members, or friends.
- Your average annual travel is approximately 12,000 miles.
- You never earn money driving people around in your car.
If you’re a rideshare driver, these assumptions probably don’t match up with your actual vehicle usage. You are most certainly making some coin driving strangers around in your car. In addition, you can easily drive over a thousand miles a week—which can add up to over 50,000 miles a year—shuttling people to and from Logan Airport, the big game at Gillette Stadium, a night out at the Encore, important appointments, and more.
For this reason, in the eyes of an insurance company, your personal car transitions to a commercial vehicle immediately upon making yourself available as a driver on a TNC app. This means that your personal auto insurance policy is likely not going to provide coverage if you get in an accident while logged in.
To make sure you have proper coverage for your personal vehicle at all times, including when you’re offline, logged in to an app, en route to picking up a ride hailer, or transporting a passenger, Morse highly recommends you secure additional insurance designed specifically for rideshare drivers and their unique driving risks.
Why the insurance coverage provided by the TNC company is not enough protection if you’re a rideshare driver
It’s very likely that the TNC companies you choose to drive for will have commercial auto insurance coverage that extends to you when you’re using their app. So, why isn’t this protection sufficient? A TNC company’s policy typically only applies to rideshare drivers who get in an accident after they’ve accepted a fare or are transporting a passenger. In addition, this coverage often comes with a hefty deductible—as much as $2,500—that you could be responsible for paying before the company’s coverage would apply.
Even if you’ve only been a rideshare driver for a short amount of time, you know that there is an abundance of “dead time” when you’re idling or driving around waiting to hear that sweet-sounding ride request ping. During this period, if you were to get in an accident, the TNC company’s policy generally does not provide coverage or, if it does, the coverage is typically very limited.
Many rideshare drivers who rely solely on a TNC’s commercial auto insurance coverage find out too late that it provides woefully insufficient coverage and are often left paying out of pocket for accident-related expenses such as vehicle repairs, car rentals, medical expenses, emergency road service, legal defense fees, and more.
Morse, of course, is here to help you get the rideshare insurance coverage you require
Rideshare insurance can solve the gap in insurance coverage between your personal auto insurance and a TNC company’s commercial insurance policy. At Morse, we work with many insurance carriers who offer rideshare insurance endorsements that can be added to your personal auto policy, as long as your car coverage is also placed with them.
Since the premiums, coverage types, and policy limits can vary greatly by car insurance company, our team will help you understand what each of our carriers has to offer. In addition, we will review your current personal car insurance policy as well as what the TNC company’s commercial policy may provide so that we can better assist you in making sure your coverage leaves no risky gaps, whether you’re signed in to a ridesharing app or “off the clock” and using your vehicle for personal use.
At Morse, we of course want to support your endeavor as a rideshare driver and help you make this full-time or side gig safe, enjoyable, and lucrative. Please call us today at 508-238-0056 so we can assist you in finding the proper type and right amount of rideshare insurance protection.