# Minimum insurance



## nightshaadow (May 2, 2019)

Is it okay to have minimum liability of $15k/$30k/$5k since Uber will cover up to one million? Right now I have $50k/$100k/$50k and if I switch I can save $76 for 6 months.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

Your personal auto insurance does not come into play with RS. You need an insurance rider to be covered. Best to speak with your insurance agent and tell them you do RS.....


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## BigJohn (Jan 27, 2016)

nightshaadow said:


> Is it okay to have minimum liability of $15k/$30k/$5k since Uber will cover up to one million? Right now I have $50k/$100k/$50k and if I switch I can save $76 for 6 months.


So, if you run a red light and kill someone, you only want to be responsible for $15K of liability?

In today's environment, minimums should be $100K/$300K/$50K on all personal liability insurance policies. And anyone who causes any sort of accident or injury or death and did not have insurance at the time should NEVER be able to drive a vehicle again.



SHalester said:


> Your personal auto insurance does not come into play with RS. You need an insurance rider to be covered. Best to speak with your insurance agent and tell them you do RS.....


While true, the bigger picture problem is the OPs desire to operate a vehicle without thought or concern for today's environment. Having such low insurance is indicative of a mindset that should be kept far far away from doing any kind of transport service.


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## JonC (Jul 30, 2016)

nightshaadow said:


> Is it okay to have minimum liability of $15k/$30k/$5k since Uber will cover up to one million? Right now I have $50k/$100k/$50k and if I switch I can save $76 for 6 months.


That depends on what your personal risk situation is. Given how expensive cars are now, there's a decent chance that you'd do more than $5k damage to any car you hit, and of course medical costs are insanely high.

If you don't own a home or anything of significant value, $15/30/5 may be fine, assuming you're ok with declaring bankruptcy if you're ever hit with a large judgment.

That of course applies when you're driving your car for personal reasons, the Uber policy covers you when you're driving rideshare.

If you've got a car you only ever use for rideshare (and never drive it when you're logged out) it's probably fine to have minimum liability on that car. If you're logged in and moving but not on the way to a pickup or have a passenger in the car, Uber limits are only $50/100/25, so maybe sit still if you're logged in and waiting for pings.

It's really about your personal situation. I keep $100/300/100 on my cars, that'll cover me if I hit and total anything but the most expensive cars, and all but the most expensive medical bills of somebody I hit, and for me it's only a few dollars difference from my state's minimum $25/50/15.

Oh, and Uber's collision/comprehensive coverage is contingent, so if you don't maintain your own coll/comp coverage you have no coverage when driving for Uber. That's fine if you've got a really cheap car, since Uber now has a $2500 deductible on their coll/comp (because they're asshats).


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## Uber's Guber (Oct 22, 2017)

nightshaadow said:


> Right now I have $50k/$100k/$50k and if I switch I can save $76 for 6 months.


$76 buys a lot of "peace of mind." I sleep better at night knowing I drive with a padded insurance policy. And with all the DUI'ers and illegal aliens spamming up the streets with suspended or no licenses, it's good sense to carry higher levels of uninsured/underinsured coverages especially.


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## kingcorey321 (May 20, 2018)

I strongly suggest. Call your insurance .
Tell them your THINKING of doing ride share. How much will it cost to add this on ?
Most people pay 10 to 20 a month . Its well worth it .
If not you crash your car. Pax sues your insuracne .
Ow no . Your not covered to be rideshare driver from your insurance.
The insurance kicks you . Uber insurance . I cant comment on . I know they have a 2500 ded ? or more . Do they really cover the damages on your car ?


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

nightshaadow said:


> Is it okay to have minimum liability of $15k/$30k/$5k since Uber will cover up to one million? Right now I have $50k/$100k/$50k and if I switch I can save $76 for 6 months.


What Uber cover's is irrelevant. Your liability coverage is as it says, for payouts that YOU are liable for so forget what Uber covers.

Hate to be blunt but saving a few dollars on your insurance bill by reducing your liability coverage is asinine. Don't do it.

A more legitimate way to save money on car insurance is to raise your deductible on your comp insurance, that might be financially smart.


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## nightshaadow (May 2, 2019)

Seamus said:


> What Uber cover's is irrelevant. Your liability coverage is as it says, for payouts that YOU are liable for so forget what Uber covers.
> 
> Hate to be blunt but saving a few dollars on your insurance bill by reducing your liability coverage is asinine. Don't do it.
> 
> A more legitimate way to save money on car insurance is to raise your deductible on your comp insurance, that might be financially smart.


I got the one that the insurance company recommended (progressive insurance) of 50/100/50 and $500 deductible. Btw I only do Uber eats.


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## JonC (Jul 30, 2016)

Seamus said:


> What Uber cover's is irrelevant. Your liability coverage is as it says, for payouts that YOU are liable for so forget what Uber covers.
> 
> Hate to be blunt but saving a few dollars on your insurance bill by reducing your liability coverage is asinine. Don't do it.
> 
> A more legitimate way to save money on car insurance is to raise your deductible on your comp insurance, that might be financially smart.


Huh?

What Uber covers may be very relevant to nightshadow's situation.

If I had a beater car (worth less than say $5k) that I only used for Uber, you'd better believe I'd put minimum coverage on it. I'd get the cheapest minimum coverage policy that I could find, from a different company than I used for my personal car, I wouldn't bother with rideshare coverage, and I definitely wouldn't put comprehensive/collision on it. It's not MY liability when I'm online, it's Uber's liability, and they've got a million dollar policy when you've got pax in the car and when you're driving to a pickup. Why should I pay more for insurance that would essentially never apply? The only purpose that insurance serves is so that Uber will let you drive.

On a car that I use for personal things as well as Uber? Minimum coverage should really only an option if you're so poor that you're judgment proof. If you're not and you're using the car for Uber, that's where it's a good idea to consider a rideshare policy.

Comp/coll is about how much your car is worth, and whether you can afford to replace it. It's generally a bad investment if you've got a car worth less than about $5k. For my car, going from a $500 comp/coll deductible with $50 glass deductible to a $2k deductible would be about a $70 difference every 6 months, not really worth the savings for me. Once my car's value drops below $5k? I'll consider dropping comp/coll entirely.

Insurance coverage is ALWAYS about your personal situation.

nightshadow didn't give us enough information to be able to offer any specific advice.


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## BigJohn (Jan 27, 2016)

JonC said:


> Huh?
> 
> What Uber covers may be very relevant to nightshadow's situation.
> 
> ...


So, what you are really telling us is this:

You believe you are perfect, never make a mistake, obey all traffic laws perfectly and drive like a perfect defensive driver should.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

JonC said:


> It's not MY liability when I'm online,


just online? You have that wrong. If you are 'just' online waiting for a ping and get into an accident deemed your fault, you are toast.

btw, not telling the insurance company you are using an auto for RS is another huge mistake. Most won't cover you, at all, when online.

Something to noodle and maybe speak with your insurance agent (at least the one for the RS POS).


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

JonC said:


> Huh?
> 
> What Uber covers may be very relevant to nightshadow's situation.
> 
> ...


You're talking in circles. If you're going to comment on my comment please at least focus on reading comprehension and not bloviate trying to give an impression of how knowledgeable you are.

Let me help you focus on my comment by understanding some facts:

I am talking about *personal* Liability insurance only, so all other coverages are irrelevant to my comment.
He was thinking of dropping his *personal* liability insurance to 15/30/5 to save $76, which is ridiculous. You're good with that?
Yes, forget about Uber's coverage, your* personal *Liability insurance comes in to play when you *AREN"T* online. When you're doing Uber, Lyft, UE, DD,GH,IC,Flex your *personal *insurance is null and void if you don't have R/S or Commercial coverage.
Uber's million dollar coverage for food delivery is offer acceptance to delivery drop off. In between it's 50/100/25. You think that's enough to keep your pockets clean?
You are mixing and matching personal insurance as if it's commingled with Ubers insurance which it is not without either a R/S or Commercial policy.


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## JonC (Jul 30, 2016)

BigJohn said:


> So, what you are really telling us is this:
> 
> You believe you are perfect, never make a mistake, obey all traffic laws perfectly and drive like a perfect defensive driver should.


Lol, nothing of the sort. Dunno where you got that from what I said.

All I said is that insurance should be appropriate to an individual's situation, and a "one size fits all" approach is a mistake. Sometimes minimum coverage is appropriate, sometimes a $500k combined single limit with a personal $10 million umbrella policy is appropriate. It depends on your financial situation and level of comfort with risk.


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## BigJohn (Jan 27, 2016)

JonC said:


> Lol, nothing of the sort. Dunno where you got that from what I said.
> 
> All I said is that insurance should be appropriate to an individual's situation, and a "one size fits all" approach is a mistake. Sometimes minimum coverage is appropriate, sometimes a $500k combined single limit with a personal $10 million umbrella policy is appropriate. It depends on your financial situation and level of comfort with risk.


In other words, you don't care about any one else, only yourself.

So when you make that mistake while driving, hit a kid making him a quadrapledric for life, you only want to be responsible for the bare minimum of liability insurance.


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## JonC (Jul 30, 2016)

Seamus said:


> You're talking in circles. If you're going to comment on my comment please at least focus on reading comprehension and not bloviate trying to give an impression of how knowledgeable you are.
> 
> Let me help you focus on my comment by understanding some facts:
> 
> ...


I'm not talking in circles.

I'm pointing out that insurance coverage should be appropriate to an individual's situation.

You can't talk only about personal liability coverage only given the original question.

And yes, I'm good with dropping personal liability to minimum coverage to save $76 in certain circumstances. I outlined where I thought that would be appropriate.

Look, if you're broke, have no assets of any substantial value, and $76 means you can both eat and pay your rent, you SHOULD have minimum coverage. You're judgment proof, can't get blood from a turnip. You might have to file bankruptcy if you cause a major wreck, but that's not the end of the world.

If you own a home, minimum coverage is virtually never appropriate, and if you're doing rideshare you probably want that rideshare policy rider.

If you're a multimillionaire doing rideshare for fun, you probably want that rider, a $500k CSL, and your own multimillion dollar umbrella policy.

Uber's coverage takes over when your policy won't pay. So f-ing what if your personal policy isn't valid when you're online? Uber's is responsible for whatever your personal policy won't cover. Is your insurance getting canceled after? Probably. But again, if you have to choose between rent, food, and insurance, you're already in bad shape. Let Uber eat the risk when you're online, and take the bus when you're not.

Insurance is ALWAYS situational. And nightshadow didn't give us anywhere close to enough information about their situation to give a blanket answer.



BigJohn said:


> In other words, you don't care about any one else, only yourself.
> 
> So when you make that mistake while driving, hit a kid making him a quadrapledric for life, you only want to be responsible for the bare minimum of liability insurance.


You're trying to turn a financial question into a moral question.

Do YOU have a $500k combined single limit auto policy and a $10 million umbrella policy?

Because in the real world $50k/100k/50k isn't really gonna do that much more for that quadriplegic kid than $15/30/5 is. That $50k will be gone in the first two days the kid is in the hospital. There's still gonna be a million dollar hospital bill. And it's still gonna end up with you in bankruptcy, and it's still not gonna get paid unless Uber takes the hit.



SHalester said:


> just online? You have that wrong. If you are 'just' online waiting for a ping and get into an accident deemed your fault, you are toast.
> 
> btw, not telling the insurance company you are using an auto for RS is another huge mistake. Most won't cover you, at all, when online.
> 
> Something to noodle and maybe speak with your insurance agent (at least the one for the RS POS).


If you're online with no pings and moving, you may be making a mistake.

If you have to reposition, go offline to do it unless you have rideshare coverage. If you do have it, go ahead. If you don't, go offline, reposition, park, go back online, and wait for a ping from a stationary position.

Telling the insurance company may or may not be a mistake depending on your circumstances. As with all insurance questions, it's situational.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

JonC said:


> So f-ing what if your personal policy isn't valid when you're online? Uber's is responsible for whatever your personal policy won't cover.





JonC said:


> If you're online with no pings and moving, you may be making a mistake.
> 
> If you have to reposition, go offline to do it.


And you wonder why I said you're talking in circles! Oh the irony :roflmao:


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

I don't believe in insurance. I acquire the minimum insurance required by law.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

JonC said:


> If you're online with no pings and moving, you may be making a mistake.


no, you are making a mistake. as you have seen here you are making a huge mistake. The objective is to be OVER insured not under.

And not speaking with your insurance agent to tell them exactly what you are doing is adding on to your mistake.

But, if you live alone, have no assets, no responsibilities, then knock yourself out; do you and until THAT accident.

Good day.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

SHalester said:


> But, if you live alone, have no assets, no responsibilities, then knock yourself out; do you and until THAT accident.


For me that's mostly true. I have about $60,000 total in net worth from every thing I own (which is mostly cars, guns, and about $5000 in actual cash). As far as I can discern, I could be ordered to surrender 100% of it and I'd be no worse off really than I am now.

I'm guessing they wouldn't order me to give up my laptop because I need it for my remote work job at the university and I'm guessing they wouldn't order me to give up my car since I use it as my main source of income. But in my state, there is also a law that says you are entitled to be allowed to keep one gun in the case of a bankruptcy. If I can choose what gun I get to keep, I can choose one of my registered machineguns and then I can sell it to buy a car and then I'm still able to work.

Even if that law didn't exist, the only part that would suck would be getting a job at McDonalds so I could save up another $3000 to buy a replacement Uber car. It would be a painful few months, then life would return to normal for me.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

nightshaadow said:


> Is it okay to have minimum liability of $15k/$30k/$5k since Uber will cover up to one million? Right now I have $50k/$100k/$50k and if I switch I can save $76 for 6 months.


In California, if you have a cheap car that you wouldn't have full coverage on, then you can rely on Uber's insurance. This is because CA insists that Uber/Lyft covers the driver's legal responsibility whenever the app is on, regardless of whether there is a pax in the car or not and regardless of whether the driver has personal insurance.

I do not have personal car insurance; I prefer instead to use Uber's. This does mean, of course, that whenever I drive the car I have to be online in the driver app, but this isn't a problem.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> This is because CA insists


in calif one can not be on the road wo insurance. don't think just having Uber app online would cover that requirement.

But, as noted, if one is single, has no assets, no nothing, sure go for it.


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## BigJohn (Jan 27, 2016)

The Gift of Fish said:


> In California, if you have a cheap car that you wouldn't have full coverage on, then you can rely on Uber's insurance. This is because CA insists that Uber/Lyft covers the driver's legal responsibility whenever the app is on, regardless of whether there is a pax in the car or not and regardless of whether the driver has personal insurance.


You are twisting what the requirements are. EVERY STATE requires a Commercial Liability Insurance policy WITH Passenger endorsement to be able to transport one or more passengers for hire. In the case of rideshare companies, the company is required to have such a policy. However, such as for Uber Black, a "driver" can have his own Commercial Liability policy with Passenger endorsement and keep more of the money for each ride. That is an entirely separate issue from having a personal auto liability policy.


The Gift of Fish said:


> I do not have personal car insurance; I prefer instead to use Uber's. This does mean, of course, that whenever I drive the car I have to be online in the driver app, but this isn't a problem.


Then you are in violation of Uber driver requirements and CA state law and you should have your driver's license revoked.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

BigJohn said:


> Then you are in violation of Uber driver requirements and CA state law and you should have your driver's license revoked.


Got it, thanks.

I'll also take my car to the crusher and burn my house down.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

one wonders what happens when Uber requests the insurance proof.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

SHalester said:


> one wonders what happens when Uber requests the insurance proof.


I make a break for the border. From SF I can be in Tijuana in 9 hours.


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