# Will Lyft deactivate me for submitting an accident to my personal insurance?



## Clemfoolerie (Jan 21, 2018)

I hit a patch of ice and slid through an intersection last week during a snowstorm on my way home from my day job. My bumper was cracked but the other car was fine; we never exhanged insurance information.

I checked with my insurance. Our rates won't go up because of our 3-year rate lock and the repair work would be under the threshold. My wife and I can pay $400 cash to have it done without filing a claim and repairing the bumper where you can't tell cosmetically, or a $250 deductible for the body mechanic to completely replace the bumper. We're leaning towards less out of pocket because my wife needs mechanical work done on her car but we're a bit nervous.

She did some research. It seems like some people have had their accounts deactivated for having an at-fault accident show up on their insurance, even when it was on their own time/not Lyft time. Some people said they just needed to submit photos of the fixed vehicle with a form filled out by the mechanic to be reactivated, while others say they never were reactivated.

Has anyone here had any experience in this situation? What was the outcome? Any fact-based advice to offer even if you haven't personally been in this situation? TIA


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

Clemfoolerie said:


> I hit a patch of ice and slid through an intersection last week during a snowstorm on my way home from my day job. My bumper was cracked but the other car was fine; we never exhanged insurance information.
> 
> I checked with my insurance. Our rates won't go up because of our 3-year rate lock and the repair work would be under the threshold. My wife and I can pay $400 cash to have it done without filing a claim and repairing the bumper where you can't tell cosmetically, or a $250 deductible for the body mechanic to completely replace the bumper. We're leaning towards less out of pocket because my wife needs mechanical work done on her car but we're a bit nervous.
> 
> ...


This happened to me with Uber four years ago and they never showed up, but then again my app wasn't on at the time. If your app wasn't on then it's none of their business


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## SpeedyGonzalez11 (Jan 16, 2017)

Clemfoolerie said:


> I hit a patch of ice and slid through an intersection last week during a snowstorm on my way home from my day job. My bumper was cracked but the other car was fine; we never exhanged insurance information.
> 
> I checked with my insurance. Our rates won't go up because of our 3-year rate lock and the repair work would be under the threshold. My wife and I can pay $400 cash to have it done without filing a claim and repairing the bumper where you can't tell cosmetically, or a $250 deductible for the body mechanic to completely replace the bumper. We're leaning towards less out of pocket because my wife needs mechanical work done on her car but we're a bit nervous.
> 
> ...


We're independent ontractors, we determine how fit our vehicle is, not lyft or uber. Or at least so goes the tale....


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## SuzeCB (Oct 30, 2016)

Clemfoolerie said:


> I hit a patch of ice and slid through an intersection last week during a snowstorm on my way home from my day job. My bumper was cracked but the other car was fine; we never exhanged insurance information.
> 
> I checked with my insurance. Our rates won't go up because of our 3-year rate lock and the repair work would be under the threshold. My wife and I can pay $400 cash to have it done without filing a claim and repairing the bumper where you can't tell cosmetically, or a $250 deductible for the body mechanic to completely replace the bumper. We're leaning towards less out of pocket because my wife needs mechanical work done on her car but we're a bit nervous.
> 
> ...


I'm in NJ, so YMMV...

This past fall I applied to Lyft and was initially denied because of 3 accidents on my DMV report that were not my fault. NJ lists them all, but indicates if the driver was at fault. There was no indication, and, in fact, two of the accidents resulted in tickets and guilty findings in court, and all three had the other driver's respective insurance companies paying out 100%.

Someone at Lyft helped explain the situation to them, and I was activated. It lasted two months, until a random check was run, and I was deactivated for the same reason. The DMV reports are exactly the same except for the date they were generated.

Lyft may have support that speaks English and is better at understanding issues you may have with rides, but when it comes to algorithmic stuff (reports come in and the computer decides based on them), they are much more hardass. Maybe one day I'll go into their brick-and-mortar support location near me and see if it can be straightened out once and for all. Not sure yet if it's worth it.


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## surlywynch (Jun 22, 2017)

Unless you did not identify yourself to your insurance co, and masked your caller ID, your insurance likely knows about it anyway. Never contact your insurance co and identify yourself unless you are sure you want to file a claim.


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## AuxCordBoston (Dec 3, 2016)

Clemfoolerie said:


> I hit a patch of ice and slid through an intersection last week during a snowstorm on my way home from my day job. My bumper was cracked but the other car was fine; we never exhanged insurance information.
> 
> I checked with my insurance. Our rates won't go up because of our 3-year rate lock and the repair work would be under the threshold. My wife and I can pay $400 cash to have it done without filing a claim and repairing the bumper where you can't tell cosmetically, or a $250 deductible for the body mechanic to completely replace the bumper. We're leaning towards less out of pocket because my wife needs mechanical work done on her car but we're a bit nervous.
> 
> ...


The other issue is whether your insurance co will ask you if you do rideshare, and if they deactivate you for it.


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

Was there a police report made? If there was no police report and you repair your vehicle out of pocket then there is virtually no evidence you were in an accident, just a past repair report that will show up on a check of your vehicles vin.


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## Clemfoolerie (Jan 21, 2018)

surlywynch said:


> Unless you did not identify yourself to your insurance co, and masked your caller ID, your insurance likely knows about it anyway. Never contact your insurance co and identify yourself unless you are sure you want to file a claim.


When I spoke to our insurance agent, they said since we were not sure if we wanted to file a claim, they weren't even going to note an inquiry because of this specific reason.



AuxCordBoston said:


> The other issue is whether your insurance co will ask you if you do rideshare, and if they deactivate you for it.


Not true. We went with our company because they are one of the few who offer rideshare insurance. It's only a couple of extra hundred a year.



Fauxknight said:


> Was there a police report made? If there was no police report and you repair your vehicle out of pocket then there is virtually no evidence you were in an accident, just a past repair report that will show up on a check of your vehicles vin.


No police report was made.


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## Fauxknight (Aug 12, 2014)

Clemfoolerie said:


> When I spoke to our insurance agent...they weren't even going to note an inquiry because of this specific reason.
> 
> No police report was made.


You're golden then, the accident never happened.

I see no reason to file a claim to save $150. Your rate may be locked in for now, but it'll hit you down the road. Pay the $400, work a few extra hours to make it back, and the whole thing never happened.


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## rickasmith98 (Sep 26, 2016)

Think all insurance companies now, when you file the claim, will ask if the car was being used or has EVER been used for rideshare. You either lie and say NO, or YES and get canceled. A friend was just in an accident (other drivers fault) and went online to report the accident and one of the first few questions was about driving for hire. If you're lucky enough to live in a state where you can get rideshare hybrid insurance, by all means do so. My state does not offer it so the only option to be legit for me is to buy commercial insurance which is way too expensive, which creates a great risk.


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

Never report to Lyft/Uber unless there is a chance your pax will report it.

I got hit once with a pax in the car. Very minimal tap on rear bumper with barely noticeable damage. I cancelled the ride so she wasnt charged and she ordered another ride and was on her way.. 

If I had completed the ride instead of cancelling it would have caused the pax to ultimately pay for two trips and I would expect they might contact support to try and get some of that refunded.


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## Lauren Wu (Jul 31, 2018)

So... I was driving Lyft and on the way to a passenger, I was switching lanes and even though I looked, another car approached and am accident occurred. Chances are that it will be determined that it is my fault, and this sucks.

Damage is minimal, no injuries occurred, and no passengers were in the car. The cabbage consists of scratches and bumps on the other drivers front door and fender. My car, just next to the headlight is a dent And scratches.

Right now I am deactivated, which makes sense. But is this permanent? 
The accident happened on July 5 and it was a month from now. I still did not hear anything from lyft or trust and safety. Does anyone knows how long for the process to take.


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

Lauren Wu said:


> So... I was driving Lyft and on the way to a passenger, I was switching lanes and even though I looked, another car approached and am accident occurred. Chances are that it will be determined that it is my fault, and this sucks.
> 
> Damage is minimal, no injuries occurred, and no passengers were in the car. The cabbage consists of scratches and bumps on the other drivers front door and fender. My car, just next to the headlight is a dent And scratches.
> 
> ...


call them why dick around waiting


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