Some would like to offer a car for different reasons - if needed to walk the dog, get to vet - to get groceries, if it is rural - or simply to be hospitable or boost listing. In some countries/ insurance companies it can be difficult to add an international driver. It seems UK is a repeat topic, but many could be insecure about how it is covered.
I just got a tip that a home owner listed their car on Turo (or other app where you can put your car up for rental) and put in just the minimum amount so the sitter could «rent» via the app and thereby be insured. Seemed like an idea too great not to be shared (possibly «again» - I just haven’t found the post in that case).
Something the hosts should make sure of: Many individuals’ policies do not allow for commercial use, which listing on such platforms would be considered in various cases.
The host could run into losing their policy and being blackballed among insurers if a claim emerged and they hadn’t gotten approval from their insurer beforehand.
I think this is what you mean. It works like Airbnb, individuals rent out their car and you decide which level of insurance you take. A little bit pricey for full cover insurance and of course the company take a percentage .
“Turo is the world’s largest car sharing marketplace, where you can book the perfect car for wherever you’re going from a vibrant community of trusted hosts across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and France. Flying in from afar or looking for a car down the street, searching for a rugged truck or something smooth and swanky, you can skip the rental car counter and choose from an extraordinary, totally unique selection of nearby vehicles shared by local hosts. Entrepreneurs can take the wheel of their futures by becoming hosts and building car sharing businesses on Turo, leveraging our established platform to scale their businesses to meet their goals.
With an unwavering mission of putting the world’s 1.5 billion cars to better use, Turo unlocks the hidden value in idle and underutilized assets, empowering anyone to get in the driver’s seat.”
I would assume many companies do not cover damage if the car is damaged if rented, so it would be important to assess insurance cover plans in turo.
In this particular case the point of using turo at all would be to get insurance cover for a period / use where the ordinary insurance company doesn’t cover. So it would be a given to look into insurance.
I can’t really see legal grounds why one should be blacklisted to get insurance cover from another company for a particular event for a minimum price that would pbviously not be on commercial terms (I assume one wouldn’t claim from both companies that might be fraudulent - depending on terms, or consistently renting it commercially). But it is a good idea to notify or ask insurance company - if in doubt or just as…. insurance.
Basically, you want to be clear what you’re doing with the car, because an insurer can cancel you based on what they call “nondisclosure.” If so, they can enter your info into an underwriting database, which is shared among insurers.
I don’t know the specifics of how that works from case to case (and of course policies vary), but I’d be careful to check with whatever insurers you might use / buy from.
For sure. Discussing it with the company, I find it useful to throw into the mix «or maybe we need to terminate our insurance with you? What do you think - how can this be solved?» . Such a question would often spark a solution on their initiative.
This could be a nice work around.
I just tested a sample Turo booking for a Tesla (the first car that came up in my search). The various Turo insurance are about $20/day for $3000 deductible, $30/day for $500 deductible, $50/day for no deductible but it seems to vary depending on location/vehicle. Or you can decline protection and only have liability. In the past, I checked with my credit card company - I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve which is primary coverage for rental cars and was told Turo is not classified as car rental so no coverage. Liability coverage is state minimum, which means the renter (sitter) has any assets, s/he probably needs some kind of a liability policy on their own?
I don’t know how it works in other countries, but in Canada Turo requires that you get insurer approval before listing your vehicle. They also provide a list of Canadian insurers that permit car sharing.
This is a valid point and, unless I’ve misunderstood, it could extend to tie in with discussions here about border control. In my experience insurers will do their best to protect their business and look for a reason not to pay. When I worked, I always said I used the car for work even if I wasn’t sure if I would, just in case. Thankfully the issue didn’t arise.