Lyft and Uber X are driving services that take the place of taxis. Instead of dealing with a taxi company, private, screened drivers use their own vehicles and work through a mobile app to pick up customers. If you’re interested in becoming a driver for one of these companies, you may be wondering whether or not you need commercial insurance to do so. The answer is that it depends on the service.
You do not need commercial insurance for Lyft. They require drivers to have in-state insurance that meets the state’s minimum coverage requirements. Lyft provides additional coverage for drivers that provides additional liability insurance, collision insurance, and under and uninsured coverage. This insurance is provided as part of the Lyft service, so you don’t have to pay any additional fees for this coverage package to apply to your car.
Uber X has three tiers of driver service. Two of these require you to hold commercial insurance: UberBLACK and UberX Livery. The other driving tier, the basic UberX service, only requires personal auto insurance. Unlike Lyft, The Uber service also provides an additional $1 million in commercial vehicle coverage when you are performing work for Uber, regardless of which service tier you’re driving for.
You may feel more comfortable choosing commercial auto insurance even if you don’t require it for the service, however, especially if you drive for more than one taxi and rideshare service. This type of coverage is not necessary for the basic tiers in either of these services, so you don’t need it to get started and make extra money driving.