Uber and uberX – Consider Your Insurance Policy

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Recently Uber has been in the news for a number of reasons. They are mostly stories about their rapid growth and industry leading client experience. However, more recently their success has brought on new challenges such as a lawsuit regarding tips and a heartbreaking story about how an alleged Uber driver struck and killed a 6 year old in San Francisco.

Every Monday morning we have a sales meeting with all of Deland, Gibson’s Risk Advisors, and the Uber story was discussed. There are many unique insurance and risk factors and situations that Uber brings to the surface. In particular, we looked into uberX, Uber’s low cost option, and the insurance issues involved.

uberX  signs up people using their own cars to act as a livery service, connecting to clients through Uber’s platform. Uber takes a few steps with a background check and asks for some driving history. You can find all of the information on uberX and the driving sign up on uber.com.

On the surface this seems like a great option for a full time job or to earn a few extra bucks on the weekends during peak hours – your child may even be at college and making money from it as you read this – BUT do not expect your personal insurance policy to provide any coverage.

In the risk advisor meeting, it was discussed that even though you are driving your car and have a personal auto policy – once you charge a fee there is no coverage. Therefore we advise our clients not to participate, unless they change their insurance and registration. To be properly equipped for this risk you must purchase livery plates. This will move you from a personal auto policy to a commercial auto policy, and the cost will increase significantly. For more information please connect with DG.

To sum everything up — we are not advising you NOT to participate as an uberX driver. This is merely educating the public on how to properly prepare for this activity through proper insurance.

What else do the DG advisors to recommend? Pinging Uber next time you need a ride.

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