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The economy has people thinking of all sorts of ways to save money; one of the newer ideas that is taking flight is car sharing. Initially, when you think about it people sharing cars among one another seems like an ideal way to cut transportation expenses. People that have cars that they use infrequently defer the cost of owning that car by renting it someone who can not afford to keep one, or simply doesn’t own on by choice. Supporters of this notion boast that it is more environmentally friendly, and cuts down on traffic congestion.

The idea that people can live among one another and share their belongings in an effort to help the greater good is wonderful, but idealistic. After all, this plan seems to neglect one major factor, the insurance companies. Did we really think that the car insurance industry would have nothing to say about us lending our vehicles out like we are a car rental company?

Many of the car sharing programs that exist require users to pay for an additional car insurance plan to cover the drivers that we be using your car. Even with the supplemental insurance coverage offered by many of the car sharing programs the general consensus among the insurance industry is that it won’t be enough. Experts within the insurance industry believe that the additional coverage won’t cover enough if a catastrophic event happens and this could lead the industry to discontinue the policies of customers who are discovered to be lending their vehicles.

So, what is the deal with these car sharing programs and the insurance they offer? Some of the big names in the car sharing industry are Relay Rides, Getaround, Just Share It, Wheelz and Zipcar. All of these companies were created in response to the call for “collaborative consumption” which is an idea that has really spread like wild fire among the civic minded individuals of this world. Collaborative consumption allows people to save money and the resources of the world.

The movement to share cars can largely be attributed to car sharing giant Zipcar. Zipcar offers a rental service where members can pay a monthly fee to have access to cars in locations across the globe. The process of renting is no fuss, no muss. Members have an ID card that allows them to check cars out without any process, or paper work. They can use the car they rent for a few hours, or days.

The primary difference between Zipcar and most of the new car sharing programs is the fleet of vehicles used in the Zipcar program are owned by Zipcar. Newer car sharing programs aim to use the vehicles owned by the customers that use the service. Essentially they would be turning their own personal vehicle into a Zipcar. If you decide to participate in one of these car sharing programs you would set your daily rental fee, list it with the service of your choice and they would advertise it for you. People that rent your car open the doors with a smart card that gives them access to a key. Other services allow a person to person exchange, or the OnStar service from GM to give consumers access to your car.

A program like this has got to be bogged down with hurdles right? What about car theft? Car theft is an issue, in fact one company already closed its doors because this became a problem in their sharing program. What about bad drivers? This isn’t as much of an issue as one might think as most car sharing programs require the renters to pass a driving record check before they can participate.

What car insurance companies think about car sharing

The biggest hurdle is still the car insurance industry. Car insurance companies don’t cover insurance claims if they find that your vehicle was used for commercial purposes without their knowledge. Part of the way a car insurance company determines your car insurance rate is by evaluating what you use your car for. People that use their car as a taxi for instance are required to pay for commercial car insurance. Individuals that use their car for work on a daily basis pay a higher personal car insurance premium.

Some of the car sharing programs have attempted to address the car insurance issue by offering a supplemental insurance policy. For instance, Relay Rides provides participants $1 million in supplemental coverage to take care of what your policy won’t cover. This supplemental coverage is designed to cover you if a driver kills, or seriously injures someone while they are using your car and your car insurance company refuses to cover it.

This all sounds great, but experts warn that what sounds to good to be true probably is. Most car insurance companies won’t just deny your claims if a renter gets into an accident. It is likely that people who rent their car out will be dropped from their policy if an accident occurs with a renter. What’s worse, is that if potential car insurance companies find out that a policyholder was dropped for that reason they may have difficulty finding an affordable policy long-term.

Before you consider joining a car sharing program it is important to do your homework. Find out what your car insurance company thinks about these car sharing programs. Request a car insurance quote for insurance that would cover your participation in the car sharing program. Get an insurance quote and talk to the insurance company first if you are doing this. Compare your car insurance quote online, but provide the details and double check with the insurance provider if they are willing to provide this coverage – most would not since this is commercial, besides the driver driving the vehicle is not known. Even for commercial vehicles, the insurance companies verify the driving record of the drivers driving the commercial vehicle. This is still debated in the insurance circles.

Comapre auto insurance or review car insurance for your personal vehicle here, to get low auto insruance rates.

 

 

 


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