How Uber and Lyft Affect Car Insurance Rates

Many car insurance companies provide riders or endorsements to protect you while working as a rideshare driver.

Jacqueline DeMarco
Jacqueline DeMarco
  • 13+ years writing insurance and personal finance content

  • Insurance, lending, and retirement expert

Jacqueline has contributed content, and her personal finance passion, to dozens of noteworthy financial brands, including Credit Karma, Bankrate, and MagnifyMoney.

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Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

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Konstantin Halachev
Data reviewed byKonstantin Halachev
Headshot of Konstantin Halachev, VP of Engineering at Insurify
Konstantin HalachevVice President of Engineering
  • 7+ years experience in data analysis

  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Konstantin has led data teams across multiple industries, including insurance, travel, and biology. He’s led Insurify’s engineering team for more than three years.

Updated April 15, 2024

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Cheapest recent rates

Drivers using Insurify have found quotes as cheap as $35/mo for liability only and $44/mo for full coverage.

*Quotes generated for Insurify users within the last 10 days. Last updated on April 15, 2024

Rates shown are real-time Insurify user quotes from 100+ insurance companies and Quadrant Information Services data. Insurify’s algorithm excludes anomalous quotes and anonymizes personal details, then displays refined quotes by price, date, and insurer popularity up to 10 days ago from April 15, 2024. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer’s unique driver profile.

*Quotes generated for Insurify users within the last 10 days. Last updated on April 15, 2024

Rates shown are real-time Insurify user quotes from 100+ insurance companies and Quadrant Information Services data. Insurify’s algorithm excludes anomalous quotes and anonymizes personal details, then displays refined quotes by price, date, and insurer popularity up to 10 days ago from April 15, 2024. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer’s unique driver profile.

Transportation network companies (TNCs) first started in 2009 with the advent of Uber and have grown in popularity since.[1] In April 2023, Uber rideshare sales were up 12% compared to the previous year, and the average monthly sale per customer was up 7%, according to Bloomberg Second Measure.[2]

Customers use TNC apps, like Uber and Lyft, to connect with drivers who use their personal vehicles to take passengers to their destinations. Working as a TNC driver can be a great way to earn some extra cash, but this gig can affect how much you spend on car insurance.

Quick Facts
  • Farmers offers the cheapest rideshare insurance on average, at $188 a month. 

  • Uber and Lyft provide third-party liability insurance for drivers en route to and driving passengers.

  • Many of the top insurance companies offer rideshare insurance to drivers working for Uber and Lyft.

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The cost of rideshare insurance compared to non-rideshare insurance

To better understand how much rideshare insurance costs compared to standard auto insurance policies, Insurify collected data on the price differences in these two types of policies from popular car insurance companies. Rideshare insurance typically costs more than standard policies for non-rideshare drivers.

For example, a non-rideshare policy with Travelers costs $163 a month on average, but a rideshare policy costs $217 a month on average, which is 33% more.

Insurance CompanyAverage Quote: Non-RideshareAverage Quote: RideshareDifference
Farmers$149$188$39
Travelers$163$217$54
Elephant$170$191$21
Clearcover$176$196$20
National General$186$192$6
Progressive$198$313$115
Direct Auto$208$219$11
Kemper$220$303$83
Commonwealth Casualty$221$317$96
Mercury$223$292$69
Midvale Home & Auto$228$289$61
Liberty Mutual$242$283$41
CSAA$326$339$13
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

How much is rideshare insurance?

Rideshare insurance generally costs more than a standard car insurance policy. While the average price for a normal car insurance policy ranges from $149 to $356 a month, policies that include rideshare insurance from the same car insurance companies range from $188 to $467 per month.

Do Uber and Lyft provide insurance?

Both Uber and Lyft offer their own coverages for drivers.

Whenever a driver with Uber is online, the company maintains a select level of auto insurance on the driver’s behalf and works with Progressive, Farmers, and Liberty Mutual to make this coverage possible. The limits on these policies vary by state in order to meet minimum state coverage requirements.[3]

Meanwhile, Lyft requires drivers to have their own auto insurance policies that meet state minimum coverage requirements.[4] Lyft recommends purchasing additional rideshare coverage, as most personal auto insurance policies don’t cover drivers while working as rideshare drivers.[5]

Important Information

Both Uber and Lyft provide coverage under certain circumstances if your policy doesn’t fully cover the incident. Supplemental coverage can kick in through Lyft and Uber in three different circumstances — when waiting to accept a ride, when driving to passengers after accepting a ride, and during rides.

Period 1: Waiting to accept a ride

Through Lyft, drivers get third-party liability insurance when waiting to accept a ride while using the app, if personal insurance doesn’t cover an accident. The policy limits are:[4]

  • $50,000 per person for bodily injury liability

  • $100,000 per accident for bodily injury liability

  • $25,000 per accident for property damage liability

Through Uber (excluding accidents that occur in New York state), the following third-party liability coverage for covered accidents applies:[3]

  • $50,000 in bodily injury per person

  • $100,000 in bodily injury per accident

  • $25,000 in property damage per accident

Periods 2 and 3: Driving to passengers and during rides

When drivers have accepted a ride, both before and after picking up the passenger, the following liability coverages apply:

  • Minimum of $1 million for third-party auto liability

  • First-party coverages, such as uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, personal injury protection (PIP), medical payments (MedPay), or occupational accident coverage

  • Contingent comprehensive and collision coverage up to the actual cash value of the car ($2,500 deductible) for drivers who have comprehensive and collision on their personal auto policy[4]

  • Third-party liability of $1 million

  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury and/or first-party injury insurance

  • Contingent comprehensive and collision

  • Up to actual cash value of car with a $2,500 deductible[3]

Personal auto insurance vs. commercial auto insurance vs. rideshare insurance

Personal insurance, commercial insurance, and rideshare insurance are three different types of coverage, and each serves a specific purpose.[5]

  • Personal insurance: This type of policy is for people who drive their cars for personal use, like commuting or running errands.

  • Commercial insurance: In contrast to personal insurance, commercial insurance is meant for businesses that use vehicles, like delivery or trucking companies.

  • Rideshare insurance: A rideshare policy is a hybrid policy that covers ridesharing drivers when they’re on the job.

The difference among these three insurance types is the level of coverage. Personal insurance won’t usually cover damages that occur while using your vehicle for business purposes. Likewise, commercial insurance may not cover ridesharing services or personal use of the vehicle. Ridesharing insurance, however, is specifically for ridesharing drivers and covers both personal and business use.

When deciding which insurance policy to choose, ridesharing drivers must consider the level of coverage they need. Since personal insurance doesn’t cover ridesharing services, ridesharing drivers should consider adding a ridesharing endorsement to their personal policy. Alternatively, commercial drivers who occasionally participate in ridesharing services may also consider adding a ridesharing endorsement to their commercial policy for additional protection.

Which insurers provide rideshare insurance?

Not every car insurance company provides rideshare insurance coverage in addition to their personal auto policies. Here are some car insurance companies that offer rideshare insurance:

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Rideshare insurance FAQs

Considering buying rideshare insurance so you can hit the road and make some money? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about this type of policy to help you understand why you may need it and how much it can cost.

  • Do you need rideshare insurance?

    As the popularity of rideshare services, such as Uber and Lyft, continues to grow, it’s important for drivers to consider the potential risks and how they’re covered. Although these rideshare companies provide some insurance coverage for their drivers, it may not be enough to fully protect them in the event of an accident, which is where rideshare insurance comes in handy.

  • Does Uber cause insurance to go up?

    Generally, rideshare insurance costs more than a personal policy, but driving for Uber or Lyft doesn’t increase the price of a personal policy.

  • Does UberEats affect your car insurance?

    No. Driving for UberEats doesn’t affect the cost of your personal auto insurance policy. But you’ll need to purchase a rideshare endorsement to have the right amount of coverage, which may cost more than a standard personal auto insurance policy.

  • Does driving for DoorDash raise insurance?

    Working for DoorDash may raise your insurance rates, as how much you drive is factored into your personal auto insurance policy.[6] Furthermore, DoorDash provides excess liability limits for drivers when they accept a delivery request, up until they drop off, cancel, or unassign the order. However, DoorDash drivers must maintain their own personal auto insurance policies.[7]

  • What are Uber’s car insurance requirements?

    Uber doesn’t require drivers to have their own auto insurance policy (although most states do require drivers to have their own policy), but it does provide some supplemental coverage if you don’t have enough insurance coverage to pay for a covered claim.[3]

Sources

  1. Britannica. "Uber."
  2. Bloomberg Second Measure. "Uber vs. Lyft: Who’s tops in the battle of U.S. rideshare companies."
  3. Uber. "Auto insurance to help protect you."
  4. Lyft. "All things insurance, all in one place.."
  5. III. "Ride-sharing and insurance: Q&A."
  6. III. "What determines the price of an auto insurance policy?."
  7. DoorDash. "Does DoorDash provide third-party liability insurance for Dashers?."
Jacqueline DeMarco
Jacqueline DeMarco

During college, Jacqueline DeMarco interned at a retirement plan advisory firm and was tasked with creating a presentation on the importance of financial wellness. During her research into how money can affect our health, relationships and career, Jacqueline realized just how important financial education is. Jacqueline is a contributor for Insurify and has worked with more than a dozen financial brands, including LendingTree, Capital One, Credit Karma, Fundera, Chime, Bankrate, Student Loan Hero, ValuePenguin, SoFi, and Northwestern Mutual, providing thoughtful content to give readers insight into complex topics that they likely didn’t learn in school.

Courtney Mikulski
Edited byCourtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

Featured in

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Konstantin Halachev
Data reviewed byKonstantin HalachevVice President of Engineering
Headshot of Konstantin Halachev, VP of Engineering at Insurify
Konstantin HalachevVice President of Engineering
  • 7+ years experience in data analysis

  • Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Konstantin has led data teams across multiple industries, including insurance, travel, and biology. He’s led Insurify’s engineering team for more than three years.

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