Skipping commercial insurance is a bad idea for ridesharing drivers - Insurance Tips

Driving your own vehicle for a ridesharing company—Uber and Lyft are the most well-known—has become a popular side gig. Some drivers are illegally using their personal auto policies to insure their vehicles.

Rideshare drivers are not covered by their personal auto insurance policies. They are required to have a commercial or rideshare-specific auto insurance policy to cover them while they are driving for profit. In recent years, insurance companies have created products to cover drivers during the different periods – waiting to be hailed, en route to pick up a passenger, and while driving a passenger. Some of those policies are commercial, some of them are hybrid products that are in addition to your personal auto insurance. In addition, Uber and Lyft offer their own coverage for liability for passengers and third parties in the case of a collision.

If you are a rideshare driver and file a claim with your personal, non-rideshare auto insurance company for a collision that happened while you were on the clock, you are breaking the law. There are scores of online forums and sites that give drivers tips on how to get away with insurance fraud. Here are some reasons why you should not do that:

• When the insurance company finds something amiss—and they will, they spend millions of dollars a year rooting out fraud—they are legally required to refer you to our office to be criminally investigated. 
• You could be charged with filing a false insurance claim, attempted theft or theft, to start. If you are convicted or plead guilty, you could have a felony on your record for the rest of your life. 
• Your auto insurer will likely opt to not renew your auto policy. You may have a hard time finding an auto insurance policy after being charged with insurance fraud and if you do, it will certainly cost you more than you used to pay. 

Cutting corners on insurance might seem like a way to save on business costs. In the long run, you are much better off paying for insurance that covers your rideshare business than possibly facing criminal charges.

More information about ridesharing and insurance.