PRODUCT: Ride for Hire
COMPANY: Allstate
BEST RATING: A (Excellent)
AVAILABILITY: Coverage is available through approved independent agents and brokers.
FOCUS: On a snowy Paris evening in 2008, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp couldn’t hail a cab. So they brainstormed and came up with a solution: Create a smartphone app to find a ride. They named the app Uber.
What began as a simple idea has revolutionized transportation in more than 475 cities worldwide as companies like Lyft, Cabify, Via, Wingz and GrabCar join Uber in the burgeoning transportation network company (TNC) space.
By connecting paying passengers with drivers who provide transportation in their own vehicles, TNCs not only help improve access to transportation, but also provide a means for drivers to earn a good living. But how can these drivers protect themselves from potential gaps in insurance coverage? Allstate now offers a solution with its Ride for Hire endorsement.
“The ride-hailing economy continues to grow, and our products evolve with our customers’ potential needs,” says Dave Border, Allstate product vice president. “We listened to our customers, and we are now delivering an innovative solution that evolves our auto insurance product with today’s trends—and does it at a price many drivers will be comfortable paying.”
Allstate expects that, on average, customers will pay about $15-20 each year to add this optional coverage. “We want to help ensure that our customers can more confidently participate as TNC drivers,” Border says. “Our goal is to protect these drivers and help them best use their hard-earned money to protect what matters most.”
UNDERWRITING: The endorsement helps fill some of the coverage gaps that arise between a driver’s personal auto policy and a TNC’s commercial coverage.
Some TNCs may provide liability coverage to their drivers when they are logged in to the app but have not accepted an assignment from the TNC. Allstate’s endorsement can help fill the gap that arises when a customer’s PAP liability coverage limits are greater than what the TNC provides. During this period, the endorsement also helps fill gaps that might arise under certain other coverages, such as collision, comprehensive, and uninsured or underinsured motorist.
For the time period when drivers have a ride assigned to them or have a TNC passenger in the car, the deductible associated with TNC-provided collision and comprehensive coverages generally starts at $1,000—which is higher than what many customers carry on their PAPs. Ride for Hire helps protect customers against these higher deductible costs when the TNC coverage deductible is higher than the driver’s PAP deductible.
MINIMUM PREMIUM: None.
TARGET: Customers who use their personal vehicles to drive for qualifying TNCs.
COVERAGE TERRITORY: AZ, CA, CO, DC, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, ME, MN, MO, NE, NM, NV, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI and WV.
CONTACT: Stephanie Leao, senior manager of vehicle product management; Allstate Insurance, 2775 Sanders Road, Northbrook, IL 60062; 847-402-6677.
Ronimarie Acord is an IA contributor.
