Does Uber, Lyft, DoorDash or Instacart Cover You While You’re Driving?

You turn on DoorDash and start driving toward a busy part of town while you wait for an order.

You haven’t accepted a delivery yet. You’re just logged in and available.

Then you get into an accident.

Whose insurance is covering you?

That answer may be very different from what you assumed when you turned on the app.

Most personal auto policies exclude coverage in this scenario. When you start using your personal vehicle to carry passengers or make deliveries for money, you’ve changed how the vehicle is being used. Unless your policy has been set up to cover that activity, you can have a gap.

The apps provide insurance too, but that doesn’t mean their coverage simply replaces your personal auto policy from the minute you start working until the minute you stop.

When the app’s coverage begins, what it covers, and what happens to your own vehicle can change depending on what stage of the trip you’re in.

That’s why we need to look at the stages separately.

You’re logged in and waiting

This is one of the easiest places to get into trouble.

You turn on Uber, Lyft or DoorDash. You’re available to work, but you haven’t accepted a passenger or delivery yet.

With Uber and Lyft, the platforms provide limited liability coverage during this waiting period. But it is not the same coverage they provide once you’ve accepted a ride.

DoorDash is different.

In Michigan and Ohio, DoorDash says its auto liability coverage applies during an active delivery, beginning when you accept a delivery request. If you’re simply logged into DoorDash waiting for an order, DoorDash says your own auto insurance is primary.

Now put those two facts together.

You’re logged into DoorDash and waiting.

DoorDash’s liability coverage hasn’t started.

And if your personal auto policy excludes delivery driving and you haven’t added the appropriate coverage, you may have a coverage gap right there.

That’s not a technicality. You could cause an accident while you’re waiting for an order and discover afterward that the coverage you thought was protecting you wasn’t.

You accept the ride or delivery

Now the situation changes.

With Uber and Lyft, once you accept a ride and start driving toward the passenger, the platforms provide their higher level of trip-period liability coverage. That continues while the passenger is in your vehicle and through the covered trip period.

DoorDash’s active-delivery liability coverage begins when you accept the delivery request and continues until the delivery is completed, canceled or unassigned, subject to the terms of its program.

So the same car and the same driver can move through different insurance situations in a matter of minutes.

You can be driving personally.

Then turn on an app.

Then accept a job.

Then pick up a passenger or an order.

The insurance picture can change at each step.

What if you damage somebody else’s car or injure someone?

This is where liability coverage comes in.

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash provide liability protection during certain covered stages when you're driving through their platforms.

But the amount and timing of that protection aren't identical across every app or every stage.

That's why knowing that an app “provides insurance” doesn't answer the question.

The question is:

What liability coverage is in effect at the exact moment the accident happens?

If you cause a serious accident, that distinction can matter a great deal.

What if your own car is damaged?

This is a completely different question, and it’s one drivers can easily miss.

Liability coverage is designed to pay for injuries or property damage you cause to someone else. It does not automatically mean your own vehicle will be repaired.

Uber provides contingent comprehensive and collision coverage during certain covered trip periods, but generally only if you already carry comprehensive and collision coverage on your personal auto policy. Uber's current program also carries a deductible that may be considerably higher than the deductible on your personal policy.

Lyft has similar conditions around its contingent physical-damage coverage.

DoorDash is different. DoorDash states that its auto liability policy does not cover damage to the Dasher’s own vehicle.

So if you total your car while making a DoorDash delivery, “DoorDash has insurance” does not mean DoorDash is going to buy you another car.

You need to know what coverage protects your vehicle while you're doing the work.

What about Instacart?

Don't assume Instacart works just like DoorDash because both involve deliveries.

Instacart requires full-service shoppers who drive to maintain automobile insurance that complies with applicable law and its requirements. Its public materials do not provide the same simple stage-by-stage consumer coverage explanation that Uber, Lyft and DoorDash publish.

So we're not going to pretend we can give you a neat Instacart coverage chart when the publicly available information doesn't support one.

If you shop and deliver for Instacart, make sure your own auto carrier knows exactly what you're doing and verify directly with Instacart what coverage applies while you're working.

Do you need an endorsement on your personal auto policy?

Most personal auto policies exclude coverage when you're using your vehicle for rideshare or delivery work.

That's why this conversation needs to happen before you start driving.

Depending on the insurance company and the work you're doing, you may be able to add a rideshare or delivery endorsement to your personal policy. In other situations, you may need different coverage.

The important part is that your policy is actually set up for the way you're using the vehicle.

Because without that coverage, you can end up in exactly the situation we've been talking about: your personal carrier says the loss happened while you were using the vehicle for an excluded activity, while the platform's coverage doesn't apply to that particular stage or doesn't cover the particular loss you're trying to claim.

That's a real coverage gap.

Before you turn the app on again

If you drive for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart or another delivery or rideshare service, there are four things you should know:

1. Does your personal auto policy cover the work you're doing, and do you have the endorsement or coverage your carrier requires?

1. What does the app provide while you're logged in and waiting?

1. What changes after you accept a ride or delivery?

1. What coverage pays for damage to your own vehicle?

If you drive for more than one app, answer those questions for each one. Don't assume DoorDash works like Uber, or Instacart works like DoorDash.

And don't wait until you've had an accident to find out.

The reason we're telling you to talk to your agent isn't so they can put a note in your file.

It's so you know the coverage is there when you need it.