The weather seems to have finally turned for the better. We are finally out of the 40s and I’m praying my hardest that the sun is here to stay! Schedules are full this summer with sports tournaments, beach days, quaint cottages, Grand Canyon hikes and many more experiences. Whether you’re flying, cruising or driving to your destination, we pray and hope you remain safe! But we also want to give you a little reminder when it comes to insurance. Renting a vehicle while on vacation is quite popular, especially if you want to save putting a ton of extra miles on your personal vehicle. While your auto policy can provide auto insurance coverage while you rent a vehicle for personal use., insurance companies do require the company you rent your vehicle from to meet certain requirements.
Companies such as Hertz, Enterprise, and Budget Rentals are solid, approved rentals by insurance standards. In our ever growing and creative society, peer sharing car programs are becoming increasingly popular and convenient, however, insurance companies have a few issues with them.
1. It’s considered commercial use. Renting your car out, or even using one for hire, is treated as a business activity, not personal. The personal auto policy normally contains a commercial and/or livery exclusion, denying coverage.
2. Personal auto policies specifically exclude car sharing or vehicles for hire. This includes any vehicle used “for a fee” and vehicles rented to others. Again, a business exposure arises which is excluded on a personal auto policy.
3. Risk profile is different. When a personal auto policy is rated, factors taken into consideration are known drivers, predictable usage, limited exposure. Turro changes that completely! With Turro, drivers are unknown and changing constantly. There is also zero control over how and where the vehicle is used. The likelihood of an accident or misuse of the vehicle increases exponentially. How so you may ask? If someone is visiting Texas for the first time but is renting a vehicle, they are unfamiliar with the roads.
4. Legal complexity. Turro is not treated the same as a traditional rental car company. Liability often becomes unclear between the owner, driver, platform and the insurer. It’s better to avoid the ambiguity by excluding the exposure entirely.
All in all, there are too many unknowns and liabilities with peer to peer car sharing. In your expeditions this upcoming summer, we highly recommend, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Stay safe, stay traditional and stay insured! Call 574.258.555 if we can help or answer questions.
