Thinking of drving for Uber, Lyft or GrubHub?

[Martinjmpr]

Might want to read this first:

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...08Kl11GHSmxzyQ

It must be the lawyer in me but I remember when I first heard about these services the FIRST thing I thought of was "how do they deal with insurance?" because I KNEW that most private auto insurance policies specifically EXCLUDE using the vehicle for "commercial" purposes unless that is put into the policy (and it almost never is for regular car insurance.)

Now my understanding (corrections welcomed) is that Uber and Lyft actually do insure their drivers for liability - while they are actively driving for the service. I wonder, though, do they also insure for damage to the vehicle? Or is the driver on his own dime for that?

I'm actually surprised that the likes of Uber and Lyft are still around. Maybe people just aren't doing the math but by the time you pay for gas, oil, maintenance and depreciation on their vehicles, I'll bet most Uber and Lyft drivers are barely earning minimum wage, if that (and consider that all that time spent washing, waxing, vacuuming the inside of the vehicle are de-facto 'requirements' of the job which should also be accounted for when figuring earnings. I mean, think about it, if you were an employee of a taxi company, they wouldn't expect you to clean the inside of your taxi on your own time, would they?)

Then there's the whole "self employment" hassle of having to withhold your own taxes, pay additional self employment tax, etc.

It appears that GrubHub does not insure drivers for anything, and I think that may be a problem for GrubHub. In the case above, the GrubHub driver was at fault in the accident, and her insurance company is declining to cover the accident because she was engaged in business, which is specifically excluded from her insurance coverage. But if the driver doesn't have assets to cover the loss, I could see the other driver coming after GrubHub for the damages. And I think GrubHub would have to pay up.