Oppo PSA: Gig Economy & Insurance

"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley)
06/05/2019 at 15:40 • Filed to: None

If you drive for Uber or some sort of delivery company , food firm or even a pizza shop delivering pizza. Please, please, please for the love of God....tell your insurer.

Using your vehicle for commercial uses is a policy violation in most cases unless you have already declared that as a use. Then you will have to meet someone like me who makes you sign forms (yuck!), take a recorded statement and all sorts of other nasty stuff.

Don’t meet me. Insure your car properly.

DISCUSSION (38)

Spanfeller is a twat > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 15:44

But that would wreck the profits

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Spanfeller is a twat
06/05/2019 at 15:48

Not really. Higher exposure = higher premium . If everyone insured as they ought to, insurers would do way better.

To be honest, hiring me and then going through the rigmarole of investigating, documenting and eventually denying or partially denying the claim is more expensive.

WilliamsSW > Spanfeller is a twat
06/05/2019 at 15:51

There isn’t supposed to be profits

facw > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 15:53

It’s pretty surprising to me that people don’t know this. I mean Uber and Lyft will try to sell you insurance which yo’d think might make people check if they need it.

Meanwhile I’m here wondering if I need to update my estimated mileage because despite working from home, I’m somehow driving more than I averaged over the previous 15 years.

dogisbadob > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 15:53

he meant wrecking the profits to the driver. Commercial insurance costs more, and those drivers can’t afford it.

Uber should be covering them under their insurance. Right now, they only cover it during rides, and even then the deductible is over $1000 or maybe even $1500. The law should limit deductibles for Uber drivers to $100.

Spanfeller is a twat > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 15:53

(I agree with you, Im just parodying the careless, and un profesional nature of gigs)

RPM esq. > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 15:54

Pretty sure he meant the gig economy participant’s profits, or perhaps the gig economy platform’s, not the insurer’s.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > dogisbadob
06/05/2019 at 15:54

Ah gotcha. Yeah, that is an issue. But then don’t drive for them?

dogisbadob > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 15:56

Many of them have no choice. The good paying jobs are gone.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > dogisbadob
06/05/2019 at 15:57

I don’t really have anything to say or to offer on that front, but I get it.

It sucks because when they crash (or are crashed into) their insurer will leave them holding the very expensive bag.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > RPM esq.
06/05/2019 at 15:58

Yeah, I guess I am too used to people complaining about insurers and premium costs.

Chuckles > facw
06/05/2019 at 16:01

I knew this, at least as it pertained to U ber and Lyft, but I honestly never thought about it for pizza delivery. I delivered pizza for years in college and never thought that I should tell my insurance company.

facw > Chuckles
06/05/2019 at 16:04

Yeah, I’d expect less there knowledge there. There’s also the possibility that if you hit someone delivering pizza, you might not have had much in the way of assets to lose anyway.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:06

Up until my last promotion, about 20% of my time was spent driving my car for field work, about 4-500 miles a month.

Only once, in ten years of government employment (and not at the beginning), did I hear a manager tell us that we’re to have added coverage and tell our employer that we drove our personal cars for work. I bet 98% of the folks in mine or similar positions never let their insurance know.

dogisbadob > facw
06/05/2019 at 16:09

Uber should already be giving insurance for those drivers anyway. It should be automatic and at no extra cost to the driver. It’s the cost of business to them.

I thought the pizza places already gave insurance to the delivery drivers.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:11

If you drive for Uber or some sort of delivery company, food firm or even a pizza shop delivering pizza. Please, please, please for the love of God.... have insurance, and tell your insurer.

FTFY (t hough hopefully nobody on Oppo is riding dirty without insurance) .

A colleague from my last job had a Rolls Royce (I think it was a Phantom IV or V) that he used to chauffer brides and happy couples to/from weddings. He was properly insured for this type of work... the Papa John’s delivery driver who hit him was not. In fact, he was not insured at all as he had somehow come to the conclusion that, as a delivery driver, Papa John’s was now insuring his vehicle. Papa John’s believed this driver was an “ independent contractor” and thus not their responsibility nor covered by their insurance. My colleague eventually got his Roller fixed on PJ’s dime, but it took over a years worth of lawyering to reach a settlement and start the process of fixing his car, which then took almost another year.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Snuze: Needs another Swede
06/05/2019 at 16:12

True, in my province is is very difficult to not have insurance as registration, licensing and insurance are all the same agency (our DMV is also our insurer).

Chuckles > facw
06/05/2019 at 16:13

My greatest asset was my 96 Saturn SL2 that I was using to deliver the pizza.

Kinja'd!!!

Future Heap Owner > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:13

What if I’ve already met you?

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Future Heap Owner
06/05/2019 at 16:15

While probably still not advised, at least it wasn’t in my professional capacity!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:20

Here in the US insurance laws can vary a bit from state to state, but you are generally required to have a valid policy when you register your vehicle. If your policy is ever canceled/ lapses the insurer is supposed to report to the state who is supposed to cross check it against the list of registered vehicles and issue you a fine if you have an active registration and no insurance . My current state of residence waives this and instead allows you to pay a fee that goes into an “uninsured motorists” pool.

The problem is that insurers will generally issue you a card showing you have coverage for 6 months, but allow you to pay your premiums monthly . So what some people do is take out a policy, get the car registered, then cancel the policy (or just stop making payments) . Then restart it every 6 months but only make one payment. In this way they always have a “valid” insurance certificate even though they aren’t actually being covered. As I said above, there is supposed to be a mechanism to prevent this but it seems that it is often either not followed through on or not enforced.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chuckles
06/05/2019 at 16:22

See my reply below.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Snuze: Needs another Swede
06/05/2019 at 16:23

Yeah, it is the same for most provinces. Us, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are different.

The getting docs and then cancelling is done by a lot of construction firms for their liability insurance (and others).

Chuckles > Snuze: Needs another Swede
06/05/2019 at 16:26

Noted. FWIW, I did at least have insurance at the time. And this was over a decade ago.

BeaterGT > Chuckles
06/05/2019 at 16:28

Look at that beauty...

BeaterGT > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:29

Starred for the use of “rigmarole”

Snuze: Needs another Swede > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:30

Ahh, gotcha.

My folks got rear-ended a couple years ago by a guy who had “valid” docs. The accident happened right outside of the town police station, so even though it was minor an officer showed up and took statements and ran everyone’s information. Somehow it failed to show up. Long story short my folks insurer tried to hang this on them and it was a big fight.

This is the same insurer that had an issue processing a premium payment from me one time, failed to notify me, then canceled my policy, which they also failed to notify me about. I ended up with a pretty big fine from the state, so I know the system can work.. . sometimes.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:30

Ahh, gotcha.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Chuckles
06/05/2019 at 16:32

I figured as much. That’s good.

I can only imagine what this kid went through, though, hitting a vintage Rolls Royce. Luckily my colleague was able to swerve and the front wing took the brunt of the damage and he saved the radiator. Apparently a new radiator would have increased the repair costs by something like 50%.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 16:34

Drivers need to provide proof of insurance when registering a car here in Nova Scotia.

Chuckles > BeaterGT
06/05/2019 at 16:36

That car was a champ. Ran beautifully right up until my brother accidentally shot it with a hollow point .45 and it became part of a police investigation. Otherwise I might still be driving it today.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/05/2019 at 16:38

I get that. What I meant is in BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, it is a one stop shop. You can't have insurance without registration or vice versa

facw > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
06/05/2019 at 17:05

See that only makes sense to me if you carrying the bare minimum insurance and don’t really expect it to pay out anyway. If you are actually paying for insurance because you’d want to use it after an accident instead of doing the minimum the DMV requires, why would you do something that you knew would let some adjuster deny a claim? You save money, but you also make what you are buying basically worthless.

Tekamul > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 17:08

PROTIP : If you order from Uber eats or something similar, and it says bicycle delivery , but then they show up in a car, THAT PERSON HAS NO INSURANCE WHATSOEVER. They're just lying so they don't have to show proof of insurance to the middleman.

Gerry197 > Snuze: Needs another Swede
06/05/2019 at 18:03

His insurance company should have fixed his car right away, then they would go after PJ. His rates shouldn’t have gone up either way.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > facw
06/05/2019 at 18:21

Well. I can’t speak for the Uber people out there, but in my case it’s because most of the employees don’t *know* they’re supposed to inform their insurers (though maybe there’s a percentage that just doesn’t want to pay the money). I tell my folks, but I’m sure most other managers don’t / don’t know to.

wafflesnfalafel > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/05/2019 at 19:20

A nd then I will cancel their policy :)

(Honestly - any kind of contract delivery operations down in the States are basically not financially viable if properly insuring. It’s kind of an interesting situation - the only reason why it exists is that folks are knowingly risking financial ruin.)

His Stigness > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
06/07/2019 at 00:25

It gets worse than people getting 6 months policies and canceling them. At least in California, there are companies which offer temporary insurance. And unfortunately, those in vulnerable socioeconomic classes fall prey to these companies and are getting screwed.

But they are aware of what they’re doing and go get short term policies in order to register their car, and then after the policy is up they drive around with no insurance. This is why uninsured motorist coverage is a thing which everyone should have , and smart people do.