Last week we wrote about Turo. Turo allows you to rent your car for cash. But how does insurance work when you aren’t the one driving your car? We decided to look further into it.
Turo
Turo is a company that allows individuals to rent out their car for extra cash. While you are at work, renters can buy your car to drive around. This is great for people who are from out of town. It can be cheaper than renting a car or getting around in a taxi style (IE: taxis, Uber, Lyft). The company was originally founded as RelayRides but became Turo after a the company decided to re-brand themselves.
Insurance
Upon clicking on Turo.com you see their insurance partner is Liberty Mutual Insurance. They make sure to cover car owners, renters, and third parties. The website goes in to address the three components they cover:
- Bodily Injury and Property Damage to third parties
- Personal Injury Protection (No-Fault)
- Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist
There is a plan for owners and a plan for renters.
Is it worth it?
You may find many insurance companies will not insure you if you rent your car out. The reason being is because if the driver is in an accident with your car, not only does it cause a lot of paperwork and headaches. It causes your insurance rates to go up, and if too many accidents with your vehicles occur, your insurance company will most likely drop you. While Turo may make it seem clear cut on their website, there are too many outlying factors that can affect your coverage. It is hard to insure a car not being driven by the owner in the event of an accident.
Earlier this year, a New York Times article was published about Turo and insurance. He looks into the lawsuits that have taken place because of accidents that happened through Turo. Before considering signing up for the program, make sure you read his article.
Conclusion
Turo is great to provide a service that is cheap for people to rent cars, and others to make extra cash. As with any property you let people borrow, you always take great risk. Our suggestion would be to not sign up for this program. You risk too much allowing someone else to drive your car and risk becoming non-insurable.