Are you looking at Uber Eats or Grub Hub as possible side jobs? They may help with your cash flow, but you also need to think about protecting your car. Your regular car insurance may not apply. Here’s what you need to look into.
Does Your Personal Car Insurance Apply?
You should always carefully read your insurance policy and talk to your insurance agent before adding any type of business activity. Personal car insurance generally includes your personal activities. That means shopping, going out, and commuting to and from work. It generally does not cover any business activities. That includes things like making deliveries or driving clients around.
As always, there may be exceptions and gray areas. For example, your employer asking you to go to the store to pick something up once you may likely be covered. That’s why it’s important to look at your specific policy.
Does Your Employer Carry Hired and Non-Owned Insurance?
Your employer may carry a hired and non-owned insurance policy. Hired generally applies to rental cars, and non-owned applies to someone else’s car — such as an employee using their own vehicle to the employer.
You should understand that this coverage is usually designed to protect the employer. For example, liability coverage will protect the employer from a lawsuit in case you cause an accident and the other people in the accident try to sue your employer. The employer may also have property damage coverage in case company-owned equipment is damaged in an accident or stolen out of your car. The purpose of these coverages is in case you don’t have enough insurance on your own or your insurance excludes business activities.
Hired and non-owned insurance often won’t cover physical damage to your car. This makes sense from the employer’s perspective since you either caused the accident or have the ability to recover from the other driver. However, you need to take care that your own collision coverage isn’t invalidated while you’re driving for business.
Does Your Employer Carry Supplemental Coverage?
Your employer may also carry supplemental coverage. This is like hired and non-owned coverage, but supplemental coverage is only active for part of the time, because it supplements your primary insurance. Supplemental coverage generally covers liability and property damage but not physical damage to your own car.
An example of this coverage is a delivery app. You may have its coverage active while you’re making a delivery but not on your way home or while you’re waiting for your next delivery.
Do You Have Gaps in Your Coverage?
The main thing to watch out for is potential gaps in your coverage. For example, while the supplemental coverage your employer provides may not cover the time between deliveries, your insurance may still consider this an excluded business activity. The end result could be that if you’re involved in an accident during that time, you could have no insurance coverage at all.
Talk to Your Insurance Agent
Your insurance agent can help you review your personal and employer’s insurance policies to make sure you have no gaps in coverage and that you have the policy you need. Skeele Insurance Agency has locations in DeRuyter, Chittenango, Cazenovia, Manlius, Moravia, and Waterville. Stop by or contact us now to discuss your insurance needs.