So you want to make sure the car you rent or rent out on Turo is covered and you also don’t want to pay extra duplicate insurance which you obviously don’t need?
Based on this, the nearest good option that could come to your thought is the personal insurance you have with a traditional insurance company like Progressive, Geico, etc. But do they work with Turo, which is just a peer-2-peer car rental company?
This article attempts to make a comprehensive look into insurance on Turo and whether personal insurance can be an alternative or not.
Does Personal Insurance Cover Turo?
Firstly, the answer to this question would depend on whether you intend to be a Host or guest on the platform. Because as a matter of fact, the policy across each insurance company offering personal insurance would vary as you go from a Guest to a Host on Turo.
As a result, we’ll be dividing this article into two sections:
- For Hosts
- For Guests (Renters)
For Host:
Even if a personal insurance policy could cover car-sharing companies, you can’t use them on Turo as a Host.
Read Also: Best Insurance for Hosts on Turo
Firstly, Turo won’t even allow you to decline the pre-set “Protection plan,” unless you can show proof that you’re signed into commercial auto insurance, which isn’t worth it if you’re just starting out.
In other words, as a Host on Turo, there are only two options for insurance:
- Turo’s protection plan
- A Commercial Insurance
Aside from this, most personal insurance won’t cover car-sharing companies like Turo, as their policy doesn’t permit extending insurance from one person to another, all for commercial purposes.
For Renters:
On Turo, Renters (Guests) have less trouble with insurance and renting cars, in general.
Why?
Well, for instance, you can easily decline Turo’s inbuilt insurance package, as long as you’re below 25 years. Note there are also some other exceptions like if you’re renting an expensive car or have restricted trip details.
However, it’s pretty straightforward compared to Hosts.
Coming to the main point…
Most insurance some Insurance companies can extend their auto policy to Turo, depending on the policy they have with car-sharing companies.
As a result, it’s advisable you contact your respective insurance company to look into whether they would extend their policy to a car-sharing company or not.
The key point here however is that Personal Insurance could be a viable option for Turo Guests.
It’s also worth mentioning that there’s a typical difference between car-sharing and car-rental companies.
Whereas car rental companies are single organizations that own and operate rental car businesses, Car sharing companies like Turo are just a marketplace where Hosts can post their available cars and find renters (Guests).
Most insurance companies would cover car rentals, as the cars are being handled by licensed organizations, unlike individuals in the car-sharing industry.
So you’d want to make sure you label “car-sharing” rather than “car rental” when asking if the insurance company would extend their policy to Turo.
If their response is positive, also make sure to get the insurance policy stating their acceptance to Turo, written, to avoid possible denial of damage claims in the future.
List of Personal Insurance that covers Turo for Guest
As we said earlier, whether personal insurance would cover a Turo guest or not, all depends on the company and what is written on their auto policy.
In other words, you can find some personal insurance that covers Turo and some other that doesn’t.
If you’re in search of a list of personal insurance that could cover Turo, below they are:
While these insurance companies can cover Turo, there are some conditions that need to be met. We’ll not say much here as we’ve already discussed in detail where the texts above are linked to.
But is there any known Personal Insurance company that doesn’t cover Turo?
Yes. A typical example is Geico Insurance.
Do you have to pay Insurance on Turo? and Why?
We’ve seen people ask the question, “is it a must to pay insurance on Turo” and why they even have to do it.
This is common among Hosts, since Turo guests, the people who actually ride the car, already have to pay for insurance.
Either way, you want to know whether it’s mandatory to pay insurance.
Well, generally, it’s important you have insurance on Turo whether as a Host or Guest.
For Guests, it’s vital, even if you could get confirmed coverage from a personal insurance company.
The reason for this is because Guests are legally responsible for damages to cars. You obviously, don’t want to cause big damage that you can’t afford to pay by cash.
On the other hand…
As Hosts’ on Turo, while your insurance is usually not the primary insurance to be used in the case of car damage, yours could be supplemented, in an invent where the renters does not have insurance.
The irony here is the fact that most Turo Guests don’t even pay for insurance, since the platform gives them an open hand to either accept or decline insurance, while some others just stick to their personal insurance, which hasn’t even been verified to cover Turo or not.
So that’s where the need of the Host insurance comes in.
Final Thoughts
Insurance on Turo can be complicated if you’re just starting out.
However, in simple terms, a Host should only stick to the company’s protection plan and could upgrade to commercial auto insurance, if they get more cars to their fleet or extend their Rental business.
On the other hand, as a Guest, you’re fine with personal insurance, as long as the company confirms their coverage to Turo in a written policy. Otherwise, you’d want to stick to Turo’s insurance packages for Guests.
