Do I have the correct auto insurance?

In times of crisis we are always forced to save every penny, and car insurance seems to be one of those options. But unfortunately, as there are more sellers than specialists, thousands fall prey to fraudulent insurance or insurance that simply does not cover you when you need it.

We see ads for car insurance everywhere. They all promise the best price. But have you ever wondered why none offer you the best coverage? These so-called “agents” in order to sell, sometimes do not explain which are the cases that your insurance will not cover or will not cover enough.

That is why I am going to tell you in what cases your insurance does not cover. And I don’t want to mention what most people know about having only liability or when having full coverage. This is a conversation for the next blog (spoiler alert: the so-called “full cover” does not exist). I mean commercial auto insurance.

What is this insurance about and why should I be interested? Because the companies make a very clear distinction in their protections. Briefly, if you use your personal car for any type of commercial management or business and suffer an accident in the middle of that, your personal insurance does not cover you.

As you hear it, the regular auto insurance you have is not going to cover accidents during your business activity. It’s written in your policy. It’s in the name, it’s personal insurance.

A very common example. You use your personal car for rideshare services. This includes all those services like Uber, Lyft, Amazon, Grubhub (well, you know). Did you know that while you are working with them, and you do not carry the passenger or merchandise, neither your insurance nor the insurance of those companies covers you?

For example, say you start your car, activate your standby app, and continue driving. If you have an accident, unless you have a commercial policy for this type of accident, your personal insurance will not cover you. When the investigator notices that you were performing this service, they will deny the claim (note: do not think that denying that you were doing rideshare or turning off the cell phone will prevent the investigator from knowing it. By asking the company for the records they will find out, so leave that “intelligence” aside.)

Similarly, if you own any car and use it for business, you need a commercial policy.