With the price of gas on the rise again, a lot of people are on the look out for better ways of commuting more than ever, more commuters are starting to car pool or use public transit. Many urbanites rely only on public transit and taxis to get around throughout the city; when they go on longer trips they rent vehicles. There are now at least 20 US cities where automobile-sharing clubs have been started. If you are a club member you can rent a club owned automobile hourly. This gives people who seldomly need a vehicle access to a car without having to buy, maintain or store one while living in the city.
This is fine until something goes wrong. What are the consequences if you have an accident while using one of these vehicles? Who is responsible to pay for injuries or damage?
The driver will probably think that the club has insurance to pay for any accidents that occur, and that’s possible. Although, you might not want to rely on the club’s insurance:
* It’s out of your control if the club misses a payment and unknowingly has no coverage.
* Your particular automobile may not be covered under the policy if it wasn’t on the original declaration. There is no guarantee that the club’s policy will automatically cover a newly acquired vehicle.
* A policy condition may be ignored by the club, giving the insurance company amble reason to not pay a claim.
* The policy itself might exclude coverage to you for this particular type of loss.
* The policy may have low limits possibly to low to fully protect you from the loss.
As a car club member you most likely have no control over the amount and/or terms of the club’s insurance policy, nor will you have any say if claim arises. You run into the same issues if you rent a vehicle or borrow a friends. As weird as it may sound, you should consider buying your own Discount Auto Insurance policy.
You can purchase a special Non-Owner policy from most big insurance companies. This type of policy provides car coverage to specifically named people in the policy when they use an automobile they don’t personally own.
If you own an automobile and have a policy this coverage is already in place for you, but if you don’t own an auto you will need to purchase this special coverage. The policy will include the following coverages for named individuals:
* Liability Coverage (injuries or property damage)
* Coverage for Medical Payments
* Uninsured or Underinsured Motorists Coverage
Every state offers their own coverage requirements, so make sure to ask your insurance agent when getting free insurance quotes about this coverage where you live. If you happen to buy a vehicle, the policy usually provides these coverages automatically for up to 2 weeks.
It’s critical that you know the insurance this policy offer only goes into effect after the automobile owner’s coverage is exhausted. Also remember only specifically named persons are covered not all family members unless they are specifically named on the policy. This policy does not include any type of coverage for damage to the automobile you are driving. When speaking to your insurance agent they can explain all the options available. Since the policy only offers limited coverage the premium may be considerably inexpensive.
Driving a vehicle always puts you at risk, whether you borrow, rent or own the Vehicle. Make sure you have the coverage in place encase of a large financial liability loss.
By Joe Welusz
If you liked this article you might like Joe’s website QuoteMatcher.com where you can get Discount Auto Insurance tips to help you save money when it’s time to get Free Insurance Quotes. By following either link back to Joe’s site you’ll save money on your car insurance by comparing multiple insurance quotes from local agents and national companies.
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