Do you own a taxi company? Or a ridesharing service? Are you an Uber or Lyft driver? If you do, then you know that you can't operate without insurance. You need it. If you don't, you're just an accident and a lawsuit away from going out of business.
Get informed and buy the insurance policies you need today.
Insurance for Owners of Taxi Cab Companies
Commercial Auto is a must-have if you own a taxi cab company. If you own the vehicles, you won't survive without commercial auto insurance. In most places, your business won't be able to obtain a license to operate without it. Commercial auto will protect you when one of your drivers is involved in car accident. Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft now have contingent insurance plans in place to pay out claims when the driver's personal auto insurance policy won't cover it. In the early days of ridesharing companies, many argued that the drivers were independent contractors and therefore didn't need to obtain auto insurance. The tides of public opinion and policy have changed course. Today, commercial auto insurance in one form or another is purchased by both taxi cab companies and ridesharing businesses.
General Liability covers bodily injury, personal injuries, and property damage caused by your drivers. Commercial auto won't cover everything. General liability will give you extra layers of coverage you need. Think about it. Without it, what will you do when the costs of car repairs exceed your policy limits? Can you afford to pay for the losses out of pocket? Few can. Insurance is a wise investment, don't underestimate it.
Workers Comp is mandatory in most states. In Oklahoma and Texas, you may be able to opt out, but think long and hard before you do that. Your drivers may be injured on any day at any time. When they do, they'll expect you to be there for them when the medical bills start to pile up. If you don't, you likely could find yourself in a lawsuit. The state, city, and licensing authorities may also have more than a few questions for you.
Health Insurance is mandatory if you employ 50 or more full-time employees. Laws are pending in the Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). but they're unlikely to pass anytime soon. Even if they do, it will be a long arduous process to get rid of all of the policies and regulations established by the ACA. Don't take a risk. Set aside the money you need to pay for your employees' medical insurance well into the future.
Property coverage is another form of insurance that you need. This comes into play when one of your drivers damages another person's property. If they run over a mailbox or crash into a garage, you don't want to pay for the repairs out of pocket. This will get costly over time and could put a serious strain on your cash flow.
Loss of Income is a great option for small business owners. The insurance policy will pay you during down periods. Insurance may cover the repairs to your taxis and the medical bills for your drivers, but they won't reimburse you for the profits you'll lose out on while your vehicles and workers recover. That is unless you have a loss of income plan in place. Loss of income insurance will give you access to a stream of cash when you need it most. You won't have to worry as much about paying the bills and you'll be able to focus on the other taxis.
Employment Practices Liability covers costs associated with harassment and discrimination claims. Your drivers come into contact with clients several times a day. You think you know all of your drivers fairly well, but you can't predict everything that they're going to do or say. When you get a call that one of your drivers called someone an inappropriate name or assaulted a client, you need to know that you have an employment practices liability in place to protect your business.
Excess insurance will cover losses that go beyond your standard policy limits. Let's say you have $1.5 million dollars’ worth of general liability insurance for each incident. If you're worried that one of the accidents might exceed this amount, then add an excess policy for another layer of protection.
Ridesharing Insurance Concerns
If you're a driver for Uber, Lyft, or a similar ridesharing company, speak to your auto insurance company before you pick up your first passenger. Your personal automobile insurance may deny your claim if you were involved in a crash while you were working as a driver. Most states require taxi cab companies, caterers, and all others who operate a vehicle for business purposes to register with the state. They must be able to show that you have the required amount of commercial auto insurance in place to adhere to state and local laws.
When Uber and Lyft first started, many argued that the ridesharing companies shouldn't be held responsible if one of their drivers is involved in an accident because the drivers are independent contractors, not full-time employees. Over time, the insurance companies, drivers, and taxi cab companies fought back. They weren't able to keep up with ridesharing companies. They too wanted to be able to label their employees as independent contractors.
In the last few years, businesses, insurance providers, and local, state, and federal political leaders have started to work together towards a solution. They continue to brainstorm ways to protect all of the interests involved, but there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. Today, ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft have contingent commercial auto policies in place to cover injuries and property damage caused by their drivers. Insurance companies and ridesharing companies will likely argue over auto liability issues well into the future. If you own a ridesharing company or a tax cab business, do the smart thing and make sure you have commercial auto insurance. If you're a ridesharing driver, keep in close contact with your personal auto insurance provider and know your risks.
Rideshare Insurance for Drivers
Rideshare drivers are in many ways their own bosses. In most circumstances, it's up to them whether they make money or they don't. Their income depends on the number of hours they spend on the road and on how many people they pick up. Drivers need to be good at navigating through traffic; they must be safe, punctual, and efficient.
When you're your own boss, you need to protect yourself from threats. One of the most significant concerns that you should be worried about is whether or not you have the proper insurance. Your personal auto policy won't cover all accidents and injuries. Call them and ask them if you'll be covered while you're working for a ridesharing company. Also, call your ridesharing company. Ask them about their insurance policies.
Determine whether they'll cover your medical bills and car repairs if you crash on the clock. Get the answers now. You won't be able to hide the truth after you get in a trash. The policies you have in place at that time will either cover your losses or they won't. Find out now, before you're injured, whether or not you have sufficient insurance in place. If you don't, talk to your auto insurance carrier and look into a separate commercial auto policy. If there is a cap between what your ridesharing company will cover and that which will be taken care of by your personal auto plan, fill that hole up with a commercial auto policy plan of your own. Yes, it will cost you a little bit on the side, but it's well worth the investment. You don't want to be without coverage if you're involved in a serious car accident while driving for a ridesharing or taxi cab company.
Future of Insurance for Taxi Cab Owners
For you, the taxi cab owner, the last few years have been rough. The industry is a shell of what it used to be. Ridesharing companies have become more and more popular. You need to be even more aggressive and that much more creative to make money in today's market. If you think you can cut a few corners and avoid commercial auto insurance, think again.
Many taxi cab owners may want to legally classify their drivers as independent contractors, as ridesharing companies have tried to from the beginning. You can try this, but you will likely find yourself swimming upstream if you pursue this course. The debate is far from over, but the courts and regulators seem to be in favor of requiring more insurance not less.
It's more likely that ridesharing companies will be asked to carry more insurance. If you're counting on being able to reduce the amount of insurance you have on the books, stop. You're dreaming. Assume that you will have to continue to shell out a significant amount of money to insurance providers. Like it or not, it's the only way that the interests of all of those involved, the drivers, passengers, and all those injured, get the monetary and medical relief that they need when they're in a car accident at work.
Future of Insurance for Ridesharing Companies and Drivers
You own a ridesharing company. In the future, you'll need more, rather than less insurance. It's inevitable, so start setting aside money now. As discussed above, commercial automobile insurance and contingent liability policies are already in place at Uber and Lyft. They did the reasonable thing and put the proper policies in place. Competitors may try to operate without commercial auto insurance, but this would be a mistake. If you do this,
you're putting your fate in the judicial system's hands. Will the judge in the state in which the accident occurred agree with the way in which you interpret the laws? Perhaps, but if the judge doesn't, you won't have anywhere to turn for help. You'll be ordered to pay and you better hope you have the money to cover the damages.
More and more drivers are asking for rideshare insurance. Carriers are catering to these requests, but not everyone is on board just yet. Some take the streets with merely a personal auto insurance policy. If you're a small business owner, you can't take risks like this. Don't blow off your insurance. Don't put all of your trust in a ridesharing company. Invest your time and your money in commercial auto insurance. Talk to your auto insurance carrier before you start a job with a ridesharing company. They'll help you fill any gaps in coverage that you may have.
Don't Underestimate Insurance
As a business owner, you can't take insurance for granted. You need it. In many states, commercial auto insurance is already required by law. In others, this may be the case in the near future. You have a lot of decisions to make when you own a taxi cab company or ridesharing service. Insurance isn't a difficult one. It's simple. Don't wait. Buy insurance now.
If you have any questions about the types of insurance that you need, go online and do a little research. It won't take long. Within minutes you'll be able to find the answers you need in most cases. When you have a particularly confusing issue, don't hesitate to reach out to someone. Move your insurance agent up the list on your speed dial. Give him/her a call whenever you're stumped. They won't mind, that's what they're there for, so use them as a resource.
Successful business owners protect themselves and their companies from risk. You can try your best to avoid accidents, but no matter how careful you are, they're bound to happen at some point. When they do and you get the call, you'll want to know that you're covered. The only way to do this is to stay informed and to maintain an array of insurance policies.
Act now and protect your company today.