The Ultimate Guide to Insurance Requirements for Delivery, Shopping and Rideshare Drivers.

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GIG ECONOMY INSURANCE 101

In the past, drivers were left uncovered during certain periods of work. If they did not have their own commercial insurance they risked facing enormous bills in the event of an accident. Fortunately a lot has changed in the gig economy over the past few years. Some rideshare and delivery companies have stepped up to provide supplementary insurance for gig workers. That means that if an accident occurs between a ride or delivery, and a gig workers insurance refuses to cover the incident, platforms like Uber will provide some form of coverage. But not all platforms provide coverage! Instacart and Grubhub do not provide any insurance for their shoppers and delivery drivers, while Doordash insurance will only cover you while you have food in your car. Let's take a detailed look at exactly how this works!

UBER EATS

  • During Deliveries

    The UberEats platform has $1 million of commercial auto liability insurance per incident. This coverage kicks in from the moment an UberEats partner accepts an order and continues until the order is completed. Plus, as long as an UberEats driver has their own form of comprehensive and collision insurance, the insurance that Uber maintains will kick in and provide physical damage coverage for that vehicle up to its actual cash value, regardless of who is at fault. There is a $1,000 deductible payment required before this coverage applies.

  • Between Deliveries

    Between deliveries Uber's policy covers drivers liability for bodily injury up to $50,000 for each individual with a total of $100,000 per accident and up to $25,000 for property damage. Typically, a driver's personal insurance will kick in here. In the case that it does not Uber will provide the aforementioned coverage.

DOORDASH

  • During Deliveries

    Doordash has a commercial auto insurance policy that covers up to $1,000,000 in bodily injury and/or property damage to third parties arising out of accidents while on an active delivery. In order for this insurance to kick in you must be in possession of the goods to be delivered. That means that if you have accepted an offer and are headed to the restaurant you will not be covered. You are required to carry your own car insurance. If you are do not have your own insurance, Doordash's coverage may be voided. It's important to note that Doordash's Insurance only covers damages to third parties, any damage to your own vehicle or bodily injuries will not be covered by Doordash.

  • Between Deliveries

    Doordash does not provide any coverage for damages or bodily injury to yourself or third parties outside of active deliveries. Essentially, if you do not have an order (the food) in your possession Doordash is not going to cover you. Doordash always require that you maintain your own insurance, unless you are delivering by bike or on foot.

GRUBHUB

  • Coverage?

    Grubhub does not provide any form of insurance for delivery drivers. It is important to make sure that you have adequate insurance before you begin delivering with Grubhub. As an independent contractor, it's you job to make sure that you meet all of the requirements for driving and protect yourself in doing so.

INSTACART

  • Coverage?

    Instacart does not provide any form of insurance for shoppers. It is important to make sure that you have adequate insurance before you begin shopping with Instacart. As an independent contractor, it's you job to make sure that you meet all of the requirements for shopping (namely adequate insurance) and protect yourself in doing so.

LYFT

  • During Rides

    Lyft provides $1,000,000 for 3rd-party auto liability, covering damage to another vehicle. They also provide uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage, this applies if the motorist in a collision lacks coverage. Lastly, Lyft will provide contingent comprehensive & collision up to the actual cash value of the car. This amount is applied after a $2,500 deductible is paid and only if you already have personal comprehensive and collision coverage. As a lyft driver you are required to have personal auto insurance, and it may be smart to shop for a rideshare specific plan for enhanced coverage.

  • Between Rides

    Lyft provides up to $50,000/person for bodily injury, up to $100,000/accident for bodily injury and up to $25,000/accident for property damage. The above coverage only kicks in if your personal insurance does cover the incident.

UBER

  • During Deliveries

    The Uber platform has $1 million of commercial auto liability insurance per incident. This coverage kicks in from the moment an Uber partner accepts a ride and continues until the order is completed. Plus, as long as an Uber driver has their own form of comprehensive and collision insurance, the insurance that Uber maintains will kick in and provide physical damage coverage for that vehicle up to its actual cash value, regardless of who is at fault. There is a $1,000 deductible payment required before this coverage applies.

  • Between Deliveries

    Between deliveries Uber's policy covers drivers liability for bodily injury up to $50,000 for each individual with a total of $100,000 per accident and up to $25,000 for property damage. Typically, a driver's personal insurance will kick in here. In the case that it does not Uber will provide the aforementioned coverage.

DELIVERING WITH DOORDASH OR GRUBHUB?

These common insurance providers have extended coverage to drivers who are using their personal vehicles for deliveries (Changes may be temporary and end in 2020).

AllState
Farmers Insurance
Progressive
Liberty Mutual
Travelers
USAA

Does Your Insurance Know If Your Were Delivering/Driving During an Accident?

You may think to yourself that your insurance company won't know that you were delivering food with Doordash/Grubhub or giving rides with Lyft/Uber during an accident. They likely will never even ask if you work in the gig economy when you're renewing your insurance. They will however find out that you were working on an app if they decide to investigate a claim, and it's very easy for them to investigate. Their are platforms specifically designed to verify which dates and time a user is working in the gig economy, such as Argyle.io. What will happen is that your insurance company will initiate a claim and then reach out to Argyle to investigate. Your insurance company will instruct you log in to any gig apps that you work for via the Argyle platform, where they can pull your entire work history from all gig economy apps. So let's say you were delivering with Doordash and on your way to a restaurant to pick up food when you get in an accident causing $30,000 in vehicle damage and $20,000 in bodily injury. Doordash insurance will not cover this incident because the food was not in your possession, and your personal insurance will likely also not cover you because you were working on the Doordash platform. That means that you could potentially be on the hook for a $50,000 bill!

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