What dangers should automobile owners who engage in peer-to-peer car-sharing be aware of?
“Of course, the hazards include your car getting damaged and putting more miles on it, both of which can raise your insurance costs.” Also, if you don’t notify your insurer that you’re renting out your car, you risk having your insurance terminated, making it impossible to find a firm that would insure you at all,” Gusner says.
Perhaps more crucially, if you don’t have commercial insurance and your policy doesn’t cover P2P sharing, you must acquire physical damage coverage (comprehensive and collision) from the ridesharing operator to have your car protected, according to Gusner.
“Even with that, if you get a basic plan through Turo, you will still be required to pay a $3,000 deductible.” If the guest has guest coverage, they may technically be financially accountable, but you will have to spend time and effort pursuing payment.”
Turo’s website states that it will handle any claims processing for you, but you will almost certainly be involved on some level.
Another concern is that if you choose a basic Turo plan, you will only be protected for state minimum liability levels, which are extremely low and can easily be exceeded even in a little accident.
What about the risks of peer-to-peer automobile sharing for renters?
“The concern is that they don’t have insurance that follows them to this car, so unless they acquire the guest insurance, they could be held personally financially liable if they ruin the car,” Gusner explains.
Furthermore, Getaround requires renters to pay a $1,000 deductible, or “Getaround charge,” if the automobile they are driving is damaged in any manner, regardless of responsibility. “So even if you have coverage, if you ding a car as a rental, it’s going to cost you a thousand dollars,” Gusner explains.
Turo is a little trickier. Some small traditional rental companies, it appears, use Turo to develop their company and have commercial coverage in place, so renters who book via them may decline Turo coverage because the commercial policy would kick in.
Individual renters can pick between a “Basic” plan with a $500 to $3,000 deductible or a “Premium” plan with a $500 deductible.
After filing a claim, depending on the coverage plan you chose, you will be charged a fee ranging from $500 to $3,000 based on the initial damage assessment, which may or may not is refunded depending on the circumstances. In addition, you will be charged a claims handling fee of up to $575.
You will need to pay between $1,075 and $3,575 in cash to file a claim. Then it would help if you waited to be compensated, which will depend on the amount of damage, who is at fault, and other factors; you may receive a partial refund, a full refund, or nothing at all.