Insurance products are available to cover any gaps in coverage.
By Edward L. Blais, JD, CIC
President, Blais Insurance
Due to the
rising costs of tuition and personal expenditures, younger generations have
turned to unique opportunities for earning cash such as driving for
ride-sharing companies. While a student’s willingness to contribute should be
applauded, Blais Insurance urges parents to have a serious conversation with
their college-bound student regarding the insurance implications of such an
endeavor.
When
parents hear their children have landed a job to help pay for books, they might
imagine a traditional part-time job in retail or hospitality. However, thanks
to advances in smartphone technology, students lucky enough to have a car are
more likely working for Uber or Lyft. According to Fortune,
there were nearly 12,000 college students driving for Uber alone when the
platform was still growing. Since then, ride-sharing companies have increased
their marketing
efforts to convince the public that driving with them is the
“perfect job” for college students.
Those
trends have been concerning for professionals in the insurance industry. This
is in large part because insurance experts understand that the more time
motorists spend on the road, the more likely they are to be in an accident.
Other factors that put students at higher risks for an accident is their
inexperience driving during peak travel hours — which ride-sharing companies
incentivize.
Parents are
often unaware that their kids are driving for ride-sharing companies, as their
involvement in the sign-up process is not necessary. Over the course of several
months, however, some families in Rhode Island may learn that an accident was
not covered by their insurance policy because the driver was using their
vehicle for a business purpose. Although ride-sharing platforms provide some
form of general liability insurance, young drivers may not understand all the
insurance nuances. Oftentimes, some may forgo telling their parents about their
job since they falsely believe they are protected under every scenario.
Late last
year, I wrote an article about this very topic and the specific scenarios where
gaps in coverage may exist. That information is still applicable.
With auto
insurance claims easily exceeding thousands of dollars, Blais Insurance wants
to make sure your family is completely protected in the event of an accident.
As your kids head off to college, we encourage policyholders to have an honest
conversation with them about ride-sharing activities and its implications. For
more information, speak with one of our agents at 401-725-0070 and we will work
with you to develop a customized auto insurance package.
