Dashers flood the streets everyday to make sure that customers promptly receive their food or other items. With that said, there's no doubt that the biggest hazard for dashers is the possibility of an on the road accident. If an unfortunate accident were to happen, a dasher will want to make sure that they are covered by their auto insurance company. But, what are the insurance requirements when driving for Doordash?
Do dashers need to have auto insurance?
Yes. Having auto insurance is one of the major requirements that Doordash stipulates upon hiring a dasher. By agreeing to deliver for Doordash, it is the dasher's responsibility to make sure that they have the proper and legal auto insurance.
Will Doordash know if I have auto insurance?
Even though Doordash requires all dashers to carry auto insurance, they do not check. Doordash has never asked their drivers to provide proof of auto insurance to them. They basically take the dashers word for it.
This is unlike other similar apps that will ask for proof of auto insurance. For these companies, a driver will not be able to log on to work unless proof of insurance is furnished. Doordash drivers don't have to worry about this. The only thing a dasher will have to provide Doordash with is a copy of their driver's license when initially hired.
What if a dasher doesn't have auto insurance?
It is never a wise idea to drive without auto insurance. This is true whether delivering for Doordash or just in your everyday life. If you are driving without auto insurance and are involved in any type of accident, whether you're at fault or not, you will likely face stiff penalties. It's even possible that you can be sued; which will dramatically impact your life. Never drive without auto insurance.
Will my auto insurance cover me if I'm working for Doordash?
It depends. If a dasher is working, but they do not actively have a call, and are involved in an accident, their auto insurance will cover them. This situation is no different than any other time the individual is driving and involved in an accident. Doordash would not be involved at all with this situation.
If a dasher is on an active call, the whole situation changes. Since the dasher was actively working, their auto insurance may not cover them. Why? They may state that the dasher did not have the proper auto insurance. What type of insurance are they talking about? Read on.
Do I need commercial insurance to deliver with Doordash?
Yes. While making deliveries with Doordash, dashers should have business commercial insurance. Why? Because you are in business for yourself, and this is one of the cost associated with business. Your risk of being involved in an accident highly increases due to the amount of time you are on the road.
You can protect yourself by letting your auto insurance company know that you do deliveries for Doordash. Most auto insurance companies will simply add this on to your insurance policy. Your bill will go up, but this is all part of being in business for yourself.
How much will your insurance go up? It all depends on your insurance company. You should expect a 15 to 20 percent increase in your monthly policy; although it may be cheaper. It would be best to talk to you insurance agent and check their requirements.
If involved in an accident, should I tell my auto insurance company that I was delivering for Doordash?
If you have the required commercial insurance that is needed when delivering for Doordash, by all means you should let your insurance company know that the accident happened while making a delivery. This is what you pay for, and your insurance company should take care of you.
If you only have your regular insurance (no commercial insurance,) you are probably not going to want to tell your insurance company that you were on an active call with Doordash. If you do, there's a great chance that they will not cover you.
Instead, you will want to report the accident to your insurance company just like you would if you were hit while driving to the supermarket. In their eyes, this would be a regular accident that they will cover.
A word of caution here. If you mention to the other driver that you are delivering for Doordash, they may mention this to either your or their insurance company. If so, you may not be covered so best to keep your mouth shut. Also, if the other driver sees Doordash hot bags or any other evidence that you are making deliveries, it may be held against you.
Should I report to Doordash that I was involved in an accident?
This would exclusively be up to the dasher. If you have the legal commercial insurance, it would be best to. If you want to possibly take advantage of Doordashs commercial insurance policy (more on that in a minute,) you will need to report the accident to Doordash.
If you feel that there is no need to let Doorash know about the accident, then you don't need to. I am not sure about how often it happens, but many dashers have reported that their dasher account has been deactivated after reporting an accident to Doordash.
I personally would not think that Doordash would do this unless the accident was the dasher's fault due to reckless driving or some other serious irresponsible driving behavior. Again, if not needed, it is probably best not to involve Doordash.
Does Doordash provide auto insurance for drivers?
Yes, but not the way you're thinking. Doordash provides a one million dollar excess commercial auto insurance policy to third parties that are involved in an accident with an active dasher. This auto insurance coverage only covers the other driver, not you the dasher. For this auto insurance to kick in, you, the dasher must be at fault and on an active delivery. If this is the case, the other driver will be covered for damages or injury.
This is great, but you, the dasher are not covered at all. This is why you need your own insurance. Another thing of interest here is that Doordashs auto insurance policy is a secondary policy. This means it is sort of a backup. You will have to go through your own insurance company first. The only way Doordsashs policy would apply is if your insurance company denied your claim.
In my opinion, Doordashs auto insurance policy is useless. If you have no insurance, nobody is going to cover you. Basically, you're screwed. If you have regular insurance (not commercial insurance,) and you report the accident to both Doordash and your insurance company, nobody is going to cover you because you didn't have the proper insurance coverage.
If you do have commercial insurance on your policy, your insurance company will cover you so there will be no use for Doordashs secondary insurance policy. In reality, in my opinion, this Doordash auto insurance policy is only there to protect Doordash from possibly being sued by a third party.
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