At Van De Hey Insurance, we’ve noticed the growing popularity of food delivery services. Many of our busy clients enjoy the convenience of ordering restaurant meals at home. Lots of our clients also drive for these services. Working for Uber Eats, GrubHub, and other food delivery businesses can provide extra income and a flexible schedule.
At the same time, we urge you to contact us before you plan to start this kind of work to make certain you’ve got the right car insurance. Your current auto insurance may not protect you while you deliver food.
Will Personal Car Insurance Cover Food Delivery?
If you’ve taken the time to study your auto policy, you may already have found that it excludes business use. Insurers might not cover driving for work because they’ve found that it’s riskier. For instance, people will drive more miles if they use their car both for business and personal use. The more people drive, the greater the chance they have to get into an accident.
You might have even provided an estimate of your annual driving miles when you first applied for insurance. Your car insurance company used that figure to help calculate your premiums. If you start delivering food with your car, you’re bound to drive more than you used to. That’s why you need to let your insurance company know about your plans to deliver food before you begin.
Will the Food Delivery Service Cover Your Car?
The company you work for may provide you with additional car insurance. These are common examples:
- Hired and non-owned car insurance: Some restaurants buy a type of policy called hired and non-owned car insurance. This kind of policy can provide liability insurance for any vehicle the business uses but does not own. For example, a pizza restaurant may buy this kind of car insurance to protect themselves against liability claims in case one of their drivers has an accident.
- Delivery app policies: The bigger companies that use apps to take orders and schedule deliveries may also offer liability insurance to their drivers. Typically, this kind of policy provides coverage while the driver has their app turned on and is actively engaged in the activities of their job.
Note that both of these examples only included liability insurance. Liability insurance should conform with state regulations and protect the driver and the company from lawsuits in case the driver has an accident. Unlike collision insurance, it won’t pay to repair drivers’ cars in case the accident was their fault. Also, it won’t cover non-accident damage, like a flood or theft.
If you still owe money on your car loan, you probably need full coverage to satisfy your lender’s terms. Otherwise, you might need it if you would have a hard time paying to repair or even replace your car on your own.
Do You Need Commercial Car Insurance to Deliver Food?
Depending upon your situation, you might need to consider buying commercial car insurance if you plan to use your car for work. Some insurers offer policies that are tailored to the needs and budgets of food delivery drivers, car-share drivers, and so on.
Here at Van De Hey Insurance, we’re happy to answer any questions you may have about auto insurance for food delivery drivers. We’ll make sure that you’re adequately protected and understand how various kinds of coverage work. You may need to purchase commercial car insurance or upgrade a personal policy to include business use. Either way, we’ll help you shop for affordable premiums from a high-quality insurer. Find out more by calling or emailing us right away.
