If you are a Rideshare Driver, you need to have full coverage insurance and a backup plan.
Felicia Barns’, a DoorDash and Lyft driver was recently in an accident with a uninsured motorist. She is now struggling to find a job in order to make ends meet since she does not have $650 (half of $1,300) the auto repair shop needs to fix the car.
First of all, it is awesome that she found a body shop that is willing to take half the amount of money in order to do repairs, get her back on the road and allow her to make monthly payments on the remaining balance. I wish they would of mentioned the name of that shop as I would love to do business with them in the future.
Sure, the main cause of this happening is the uninsured motorist. It sucks, but this happens in Houston more often than not. Personally, I have been hit by a uninsured motorist, as well as other family members. It happens all the time.
However, whether or not you depend on rideshare, deliveries part time or full time like Felicia, you need to carry full coverage+uninsured, plus any rideshare endorsements your insurance may require.. The way the insurance works with Uber and Lyft (haven’t really dug into DoorDash, although I am sure it is along the same lines), is that they match whatever insurance you have. Sure the is a million dollar policy, but that is more meant to cover all parties involved, especially the riders. Basically if you have liability for personal coverage, that is all what Uber and Lyft will cover. If you have full coverage, they will cover you fully. This only happens if you are on a ride/active delivery, and after you meet those crazy high deductibles. ($1,000 for Uber, $2,500 for Lyft). If you are not on a ride or delivery, it will fall back on your personal insurance. If you did not inform your insurance company of your Uber/Lyft driving, and they find out, you are in for a surprise. They will have to do their investigations, and if it turns out you were online, they can refuse to cover you. Most insurance companies offer some type of endorsement for as little as $7 a month. At that price point, there is really no reason to not get it.
In Felicia’s case, it sounds like she was not logged into any app at the time. But, if she was she would be in the same spot as she is in today. Why? Because she had liability insurance only. Therefore, DoorDash or Lyft (depending on which one she was on) would only cover any damage to property or others she was liable for. In this case, it was not her fault. She was hit by a uninsured motorist. Therefore, Lyft and DoorDash would not have any responsibility, even if she was on the app, because she only had liability.
It is a terrible situation to be in, which is why this should be a wake up call for those without full coverage insurance (and rideshare/cargo endorsements), who drive either part time or full time. Mayhem does not differentiate if you are part time or full time. You maybe a part time driver saying you do not rely on this income, but truth of the matter is, you do rely on it. Even if it’s just for extra cash. What would you do without it? The only way you do not need full coverage insurance in this line of work is if you have enough cash on hand to replace your car through a down payment or buying it outright in cash. This means your car needs to be paid off, and you need to have that money stashed away somewhere. Otherwise, you may very well find yourself in this situation.
Felicia: If you end up reading this, I typically do not recommend Lyft Express drive, but in your case, I will. It is not the best situation, and you can expect long hours, but it will get you in another vehicle and more importantly, get the cash flowing again. There is a deposit, and I believe it depends on the time of day, but I think it is typically $250. If you have not done so already, please join the Lyft Houston Drivers group on Facebook. There are express rental drivers in there that are willing to help give a break down of the program. For all others, Lyft Express, while not the best route and as expensive as it can be, it is a good backup to the backup.