I wanted to do a quick follow up on my previous article about driving for Shipt. In and around West Michigan, Grand Rapids, and Michigan as a whole Shipt has really taken hold quickly. I mean, who doesn’t love getting their groceries delivered!?
And as a result we’ve had a lot of people contact us about how to properly insure their car when they’re driving for Shipt. As it stands, your personal auto policy will not cover you when you are driving for Shipt, Uber, or Lyft, unless you have added a “transportation network endorsement” to the policy. And most car insurance companies don’t even offer that!
But we have one that does, so don’t hesitate to reach out at 1-866-359-0970.
But wait, Shipt says they have coverage for us as drivers!
Yeah, we’ve heard that too. From what we’ve been told from Shipt is that: “The Shipt insurance policy applies and drops to a primary policy when you are on an active delivery. An active delivery is defined as when a shopper is directly en route to the pick-up location of the goods to be delivered, and continuing while in direct route to the final destination of the requested goods. Coverage ends once the items for delivery have reached their drop off location.”
So then why do I care if my insurance covers me, Shipt does!
Well, kind of, but not really. There are a host of problems here:
- Shipt is providing liability coverage only. What about medical coverage? What about coverage for damage to your car?
- My driveway is very steep. If you back out of my driveway and hit a neighbor kid on their way to the local pool, then what? Shipt won’t pay because “coverage ends when the delivery has reached the drop off location.” Your policy won’t pay because your company will argue you were leaving a location that you were only at because you were working for Shipt – which they don’t cover.
- Some industry experts have said that if you EVER driv for Shipt, Lyft, or Uber your entire policy could be void which means you have no coverage at all! The theory being you misrepresented the risk when you bought the policy – that is – they wouldn’t have written you if they knew what you were doing.
Who has time to worry about all of this? Just take out the right policy!
Yes, but how much does it cost?!
More than what you’re paying now. If you’re not willing to pay more than what you pay now, you shouldn’t drive for Shipt. The exposure of driving to neighborhoods and streets you’re unfamiliar with and on a time schedule is greater than when you were just driving to church and school and back. So we’re going to charge more.
I hope that clears up some of the mystery, and again, don’t hesitate to reach out: [email protected] or toll-free at 1-866-359-0970.