There are many advantages of car sharing, just make sure there are no disadvantages for your insurance
A new trend in private transportation is car sharing. This is very popular in metropolitan areas such as New York City, Boston, and Seattle. This provides urbanites with a way to have use of a car for those occasions when one is needed for a shopping trip. This avoids them having the great expense of owning, maintaining, insuring, and storing a vehicle in places that are short on parking space.
The question should still be asked how this car sharing affects buying and keeping car insurance. It’s true that the car sharing company takes on the responsibility of damage to the car, but if you cause an accident, you still may be on the hook for medical and litigious expenses.
In addition, if you cancel car insurance and then decide a year or two down the road to be a car owner again, your cost of insurance will go up because you have had a lapse in insurance coverage. Even if you have this great reason due to car sharing, and regardless of any other reason, the insurance company is going to charge you more insurance when you have no prior insurance than if you did.
You will want to discuss all your options with an experience insurance agent if you decide to get rid of a car and participate in car sharing. There may be specific rules in your state regarding insurance for people who use car sharing services. Some companies might see the risk as a commercial risk and refuse to insure if you car share.
Non-Owner Insurance As Alternative
Another option that most companies offer is non-owner insurance. Non-owner insurance will provide you valuable liability protection no matter what car you drive. This might be the best option if you have decided to sell your car and use public transportation and car sharing programs. This way you will still be provided important liability coverage and continuous insurance coverage. If you should ever decide to purchase another car in the future, the car insurance would be more affordable because you maintained liability coverage.
The reason this is so important is because if you were the cause of an accident, your liability insurance covers the other vehicle(s), driver, and passenger(s) for any medical expenses and if you are sued. Without this valuable protection, you are setting yourself up to be vulnerable and improperly protected. If you are sued or if the other party’s medical bills are extensive, you could spend the rest of your life paying them. Your wages can be attached, your assets frozen or seized, and it could ruin your life.
Be sure to look into all aspects of whether car sharing is a wise choice for your wallet and for your protection. It is a great thing to become more environmentally aware, but you have to weigh the risks and benefits to any major changes to your insurance coverage and car ownership costs. Car sharing is not free.
There are definite advantages to car sharing; there are definite disadvantages as well. You need to determine for yourself what option best meets your or your family’s needs. Do not forget to explore all the avenues of your auto insurance if you do decide to go the car-sharing route.
Keep Liability Coverage Anyways
Maintaining protection against lawsuit is one of the main reasons you should continue to carry liability auto insurance. You never know what might happen down the road when it comes to other people trying to get whatever they can out of you because you tapped their bumper. If car sharing insurance does not cover your liability, you need to know that before signing up and allowing your liability insurance to lapse or expire.
Before making any final decisions, be sure to discuss all the
options for non-owner’s insurance, car sharing insurance, and other car insurance with your insurance company. Be sure once you have made the decision to car share, you have proper protection.
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