Does Progressive Cover Turo? We asked Progressive (Depends)

Even though renting cars on Turo can be relatively difficult, a lot of people still find themselves using it on a daily basis, considering its relatively cheap price tag as a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform.

However, one problem with these types of platforms (P2P Car-sharing companies) is that it’s usually difficult to get their trips insured, either as a guest or a Host.

If you’re just starting out, you might want to know whether personal insurance could work on Turo. This post covers everything you need to know about Progressive coverage on Turo.

Does Progressive Cover Turo?

If you have a personal auto insurance package on progressive, you can use it. Progressive insurance does cover Turo, undermining the fact that Turo is a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform.

However, it depends on whether you’re a guest or a Host.

We’ve seen it happen severally when Turo gets rejected by prestigious insurance companies like Geico and Aviva, for simply being a car-sharing platform.

Turo even had to make an article on that:

Funnily enough, Rental cars are widely accepted for insurance by most insurance companies. But their counterpart, peer-to-peer car-sharing platforms (which includes Turo), are barely accepted.

Why?

While Rental companies (e.g Enterprise) are established brands that buy and provides cars in fleets, available for those who book them, peer-to-peer car-sharing platform (e.g Turo) work more like a marketplace, linking renters to cars dropped by Hosts.

Logically, we can relate the car-sharing industry to Airbnb.

Read also: Can Progressive Snapshot hurt you?

The problem here is that Insurance companies are not okay with the business model operated at Turo, hence, the primary reason why they don’t cover them.

But is Progressive an exception?

In some ways, yes.

In the following section, we’ll be taking a quick look at what Progressive looks like from the Guest and Host perspective for Turo:

You might also want to read our research on the list of personal insurance that works for Turo.

For Guest (Renters):

Progressive hasn’t yet made any official post about its affiliation with Turo. Or whether or not it supports it.

However, from what we’ve seen and reviews from actual people, Progressive actually covers Turo.

To add it up, Progressive made an article on peer-to-peer car rentals, the type of industry in which Turo is involved in.

To satisfy our claims as to whether or not Progressive covers Turo, we made a call to progressive, contacting their customer care on their toll line, 1-888-671-4405.

According to the agent, Progressive will cover the insurance for a rented car on Turo, provided you have insurance coverage for a car worth more than the rented car on Progressive.

For instance, Progressive won’t cover you, if you rent a car like Lamborghini on Turo with an insurance policy for a Toyota Highlander.

Also according to Progressive, their insurance would most likely only cover first-party physical damages but no liability.

It’s also worth mentioning this policy may vary across locations. So, it might still be needful that you call Progressive to confirm your location.

Lastly, make sure to get a hard copy of your insurance policy. This would help immensely in a situation where Progressive tries to deny their claim.

For Host (Owners):

Even though Progressive insurance could work for renters on Turo, It doesn’t cover Hosts.

If you intend to host your Car on Turo, you might likely need to sign up for the Turo Protection plan, an in-house insurance package from Turo.

This is because most insurance companies are against third-party insurance, where an individual lends his car and expects it to be insured by his personal insurance.

Aside from this, Turo doesn’t accept third-party insurance services for Hosts. In fact, you don’t have the option to take this action, unless you have a commercial insurance package, which only works best for Hosts with a large fleet of cars.

As a Host on Turo, your only option is to sign up for the Turo protection plan. You can read more about this in our article on best insurance plans for Turo Hosts.

Do you still need Additional Insurance?

Turo has an in-house insurance package tagged protection plan, which on default is set “ON.” But can be easily disabled as well.

Here’s what you need to know:

If you’re a guest:

You’re free to decline the Turo protection plan at any time as long as you’re above 25 Years. 

According to Turo, at any point you feel, you can decline the protection plan on Turo.

However, as a result, you’ll be relying on your applicable personal insurance coverage to cover loss or damage to the host’s vehicle.

Read also: How to pass Progressive Snapshot

You don’t have to worry though, as long as you’re insured at Progressive. However, make sure to confirm your insurance, and get the policy written down (or in hard copy).

Note that this option would only work if you’re above 25 years, otherwise, you’d have to stick with the insurance plan on the platform whether you have third-party insurance or not.

If you’re a Host:

As we said earlier, insurance for Turo hosts is divided into two options:

1. Turo’s Protection Plan
2. Commercial Insurance

Typically, Turo’s protection plan is the only option you have, since commercial insurance (kinda third-party) is meant for Hosts with large fleets who are signed as commercial Hosts.

Lots of work, as well as risks, are involved here.

On the other hand, Turo’s protection plan includes 5 packages:

From our experience, if you’re starting out, you could choose to go with the 60 plan, as it has no deductible; works best for people with little capital spend.

As your rental business grows, you can then choose to upgrade to the 75 Plan with a relatively low deductible and good coverage.

Final Thoughts

As a guest on Turo, you could use Progressive as your primary insurance. However, make sure to confirm with an agent in your location to see whether you’re eligible or not.

You could also choose to call them via the line, 1-888-671-4405.