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Best Insurance For Delivery Drivers, Rideshares, & Other Gig Drivers

Transportation Network Companies like Uber and Lyft provide insurance on the job, but your personal insurance policy might be invalid if your insurance provider doesn't know you're using your vehicle to earn money.

    Kymberlin Bush
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Chelsea Krause
  • REVIEWED BY

    Chelsea Krause

    Lead Staff Writer

Advertiser Disclosure: Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity.

Car insurance for delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, and other gig workers can seem like a gray area. If you’re using your personal vehicle as part of a side hustle or job that involves driving, doesn’t your normal car insurance have you covered?

This “gray area” is pretty black and white. And the answer may surprise you.

If you don’t tell your car insurance provider that you are using your vehicle to earn money, you may invalidate your insurance coverage and the insurer may not have to pay out any claims you make.

While you’re actively driving or delivering, you’re working for what’s known as a Transportation Network Company (i.e., Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart, and so on). Your TNC is required in most cases to provide insurance coverage. While you’re waiting for a job and in between jobs, you need personal auto insurance for your car. But making deliveries or offering rideshares may invalidate your coverage.

In other words, if you’re regularly using your car to make deliveries, drive passengers, or perform any other kind of “gig work,” you may not have the insurance protection you’re counting on to protect your vehicle and yourself.

How To Tell If You Need Extra Rideshare Or Delivery Driver Insurance

The only way to be certain is to talk to your insurance provider. Let your insurance agent or representative know how you use your car and ask for recommendations to ensure complete coverage.

If you have a personal auto insurance policy and start using that covered vehicle for work purposes by making deliveries, offering rideshares, or providing a car-share service, you may need add-on insurance or a separate policy to cover “commercial” or business-related use of your vehicle.

What Insurance Do Delivery & Rideshare Drivers Need?

Delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, car sharers, and any gig workers who use their personal cars for business purposes may not be covered by their personal car insurance policy.

Here are some key types of coverage you should consider adding:

Rideshare Insurance

If you’re driving for a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft, it’s likely that you’re covered under that company’s insurance while you’re actively driving a customer.

The Catch: Your personal auto policy is not written to cover using your car for business activities. If you don’t tell your car insurance provider that you’re using your vehicle for a rideshare job, you may invalidate your coverage and the insurer won’t pay out any claims you need to make.

Rideshare insurance is a special type of policy that helps close the gap between these two types of coverage. The best way to know if you need rideshare insurance is to talk to your insurance representative about the ways you are using your car.

Delivery Driver Insurance

Most delivery services — like Doordash, Postmates, Uber Eats, and so on — include commercial auto coverage for their contracted drivers. However, you’ll also be contractually required to maintain your own auto insurance policy on your car.

The Catch: You must inform your car insurance company that you are using your personal vehicle for work purposes. If you don’t, you may invalidate your coverage, leaving you and your car vulnerable. Because most delivery companies require drivers to have car insurance, you could end up losing your job, too.

Depending on your policy type and carrier, you may be able to add on a rider to offer additional protection. You may also be required to sign up for a separate commercial auto insurance policy.

Insurance For Car Sharing

Just when you thought the gig economy couldn’t offer any new ways to make money, get ready for car-sharing apps like Turo and Getaround. These offer you a way to offer your car for short-term rental, much like you can share your house via Airbnb.

The catch: Renting out your car could invalidate your personal car insurance coverage. While most car insurance policies include coverage for any driver to whom you give permission, that doesn’t extend to commercial interaction such as renting your car.

So, while you can take advantage of Turo’s insurance protection, it only covers your car during the rental period. You’ll need a personal policy for the rest of the time. And because you’ll need to inform your personal insurance carrier that you’re also renting out your car, you’ll likely be told you need to add on commercial auto coverage such as a rental liability policy.

One problem you may run into is that not every insurance company offers the type of special insurance policies mentioned above.

We found that not even all of the best business insurance companies do. So be prepared to look beyond your personal auto insurance provider.

Understand, too, that this kind of coverage typically is an add-on. So you may have to switch your personal auto insurance to the provider you choose to gain the additional coverage you need.

To start our research, we researched and listed the best commercial auto insurance options available. For this post, we dig a little deeper to find the best insurance specifically for:

  • Rideshare Drivers: Uber, Lyft, and others
  • Delivery Drivers: Grubhub, Postmates, Doordash, and so on
  • Car-Share Providers: Turo, Drivy, Getaround, and more

Learn More About Our Top Picks

CompanyBest ForNext StepsBest For
Progressive Commercial Insurance

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  • Rideshare policies cover deliveries
  • Nearly instant online quotes, coverage
  • Multiple discounts offered
  • Rideshare policies cover deliveries
  • Nearly instant online quotes, coverage
  • Multiple discounts offered

Visit Site

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USAA Insurance

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  • Rideshare policies include deliveries
  • Online quotes
  • Low-cost insurance for military & families
  • Rideshare policies include deliveries
  • Online quotes
  • Low-cost insurance for military & families

Visit Site

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State Farm

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  • Rideshare policies include deliveries
  • Online quotes
  • Multiple discount programs available
  • Rideshare policies include deliveries
  • Online quotes
  • Multiple discount programs available

Visit Site

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Allstate

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  • Rideshare only
  • Online quotes
  • Standalone ride-for-hire coverage available
  • Rideshare only
  • Online quotes
  • Standalone ride-for-hire coverage available

Visit Site

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The Hartford Small Business Insurance

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  • Car share coverage available
  • Coverage for delivery drivers
  • Same-day quotes
  • Car share coverage available
  • Coverage for delivery drivers
  • Same-day quotes

Visit Site

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Show More Options
Next Business Insurance

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  • Delivery driver coverage
  • Instant online quotes
  • Low-cost coverage
  • Delivery driver coverage
  • Instant online quotes
  • Low-cost coverage

Visit Site

Read More

Show Fewer Options

Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

Table of Contents

Best Insurance For Delivery Drivers, Rideshares, & Car Sharing

The best insurance for delivery drivers, rideshares, and car shares includes low deductibles, clear policies, and competitive pricing. We think the following insurance companies offer the best options for these kinds of drivers:

How Delivery & Rideshare Driver Insurance Providers Compare

Policy Options Comparison
Progressive Rideshare and Delivery
USAA Rideshare and Delivery
State Farm Rideshare and Delivery
Allstate Rideshare Only
The Hartford Delivery, Rideshare, and Car Share
NEXT Delivery

Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best Overall Insurance for Delivery & Rideshare Drivers

Progressive Commercial Insurance


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Pros

  • Addon policy covers both rideshare and delivery
  • Deductible reimbursement available
  • Discounts offered
  • Fast online quotes

Cons

  • Must purchase personal auto policy to get rideshare coverage

Why We Chose Progressive For Best Overall Delivery & Rideshare Insurance

Progressive offers a rideshare endorsement to customers in 40 states. You can also add coverage for deliveries. Progressive's nearly nationwide reach and its range of coverage options makes this the best overall insurance for food delivery and rideshare drivers.

Types Of Coverage Available From Progressive

Progressive offers rideshare insurance coverage that includes protections for drivers who work for rideshare companies and delivery service platforms like Uber Eats or Doordash.

Adding this coverage is simple. Request an online quote and click a box that says “I also use this vehicle for Ridesharing.” Don’t let the name fool you. This coverage includes both traditional rideshare and delivery activities.

Progressive rideshare insurance

Screenshot of Progressive webpage, captured 10/27/2023

You can add this coverage to your standard Progressive auto policy. And when you do, you get extended coverage whether you’re driving for work or just driving yourself.

Progressive tosses in a perk too, in the form of a deductible reimbursement offer. If you make a claim on your rideshare company’s policy, Progressive will pay you the difference between your personal deductible and the rideshare deductible, which is usually higher than your own.

Progressive Pricing

Like most insurers, Progressive offers pricing information by personal quote only. This makes sense, because your pricing will depend on your unique answers to questions about your vehicle, your location, your driving record, and so on.

Progressive makes it easy to ask online for a quote. You’ll need to enter information about your vehicle and how you use it as well as personal information such as your name, age, and address. When I tested the process, the form asked for my Social Security number, saying it would help ensure a more accurate quote. I was able to proceed without providing my SSN.

Progressive also offers a program called Snapshot that it says can lower your rates based on your driving habits using a plug-in device or mobile app. I did not sign up for this program but you might be interested in its savings possibilities. I was also offered the chance to lower my rates by adding home insurance or renters insurance.

After completing the online process, I was given an instant quote that included three options: Basic, for $66.35/month; Choice, for $104.52/month, or Recommended, for $157.54/month for coverage that included me and my spouse driving a late-model car for personal use and ridesharing. A full comparison of the packages was included, allowing me to see the options.

I also saw an AutoQuote Explorer option that offered to send me to a third-party site to compare Progressive rates against competitor rates.

Three types of discounts were offered: Snapshot, Progressive Accident Forgiveness, and Deductible Savings Bank. An immediate payment of the first month’s policy would allow me to start coverage immediately.

Get Started With Progressive Commercial Insurance

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USAA Insurance: Best For Active Military & Veteran Families

USAA Insurance


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Pros

  • Excellent rideshare coverage
  • Inexpensive
  • Available in 42 states

Cons

  • Limited eligibility

Why We Chose USAA As Best For Active Military & Veteran Families

USAA offers rideshare coverage that includes delivery service in all states except Hawaii, North and South Carolina, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New York, and Virginia.

That wide availability is offset by a strict eligibility requirement: this insurance is available only to active military members, veterans, and their spouses and children. If you can fall into that category, you'll find USAA's rideshare coverage to be both affordable and excellent.

Types Of Coverage Available From USAA

USAA’s rideshare coverage encompasses transportation network companies like Lyft as well as app-based delivery services like Uber Eats.

However, USAA does not cover hosts who rent their cars through car share apps like Turo. If you use Turo or another car share app to rent a car, your USAA insurance likely will cover you, though you’d be wise to double-check your policy and its limitations.

To get rideshare coverage through USAA, you will need an active car insurance policy through the company. The USAA website notes that you may need to carry specific liability limits to add rideshare coverage.

USAA Pricing

While USAA advertises its rideshare coverage starting at $6/month, you’ll have to add a full USAA auto insurance policy first.

USAA provides pricing information by personal quote only, and the fact that this insurance is available only to active servicemembers, veterans, and their immediate families complicates the process. Furthermore, if you’re a family member, your military contact must be a USAA customer before you can qualify.

However, USAA is widely known as an inexpensive insurance option. According to Time Magazine, in 2023 a full-coverage USAA car policy came in at just under $900/year. That made USAA the least expensive insurance in Time’s comparison. (The second least expensive was over $1,000/year.)

If you meet USAA’s eligibility requirements, you can request a quote online.

Get Started With USAA Insurance

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State Farm: Best Insurance Discounts

State Farm


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Pros

  • Discounts for bundling, safe driving
  • Matching coverage while you’re on the app
  • Available nationwide

Cons

  • State Farm auto policy required

Why We Chose State Farm For Best Insurance Discounts

State Farm earns its spot on our list of the best insurance options for rideshare and delivery drivers by offering a trio of discounts that can help bring the costs down.

And because State Farm offers auto insurance nationwide, this is a great choice for any driver, in any US state.

Types Of Coverage Available From State Farm

State Farm’s rideshare coverage is called transportation network company driver coverage (except in DC, where it’s called private vehicle-for-hire Company operator coverage).

It covers all driving activity while working for a Transportation Network Company such as Uber or Amazon Delivery.

State Farm Pricing

State Farm offers pricing by personal quote only, and that makes sense. Your location, vehicle type and age, driving record, and more all make a difference in the price you can expect to pay for insurance.

If you want rideshare insurance from this company, you’ll need to start with State Farm car insurance coverage. Adding rideshare coverage will cost an additional 15%-20%, the company says.

Where State Farm shines is the number of available discounts you can use to reduce your premiums.

The Drive Safe & Save program rewards good drivers with premium discounts of up to 30%. The Steer Clear program rewards young drivers who have clear records with discounts of up to 20%.

Bundle your home and auto coverage with State Farm and you can save more than $1,000/year, according to the company’s figures.

Last but not least, a perk: State Farm’s rideshare coverage allows drivers to receive the same deductions and limits while driving as they do when they’re driving for their TNC. Your State Farm protection undoubtedly would be more generous than the required TNC coverage extended to drivers.

Get Started With State Farm

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Allstate: Best Insurance Coverage

Allstate


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Pros

  • Rideshare coverage can be purchased as addon or standalone
  • Available in most states
  • “Deductible gap” coverage included

Cons

  • No coverage for deliveries
  • No pricing information available

Why We Chose Allstate For Best Insurance Coverage

Allstate's ride-for-hire insurance has some unique features that earned it a spot on this list. The most important thing to know about Allstate is that you can purchase rideshare coverage as an add-on to your personal auto insurance policy.

You can also purchase a separate rideshare insurance policy if you prefer. That's both unusual and likely to be a more affordable option for most rideshare drivers vs. purchasing a commercial auto insurance policy.

Types Of Coverage Available From Allstate

Allstate Ride For Hire insurance covers drivers who want to use their cars to drive for a Transportation Network Company (TNC) like Uber or Lyft.

Unfortunately, Allstate’s coverage does not extend to delivery drivers. So if you’re driving for Instacart, Amazon Flex, or Grubhub, you won’t be able to find coverage with Allstate.

Allstate Pricing

Allstate’s rideshare insurance pricing information is provided by personal quote only. You can start your quote online. I found the Allstate online application process to be both more involved and more frustrating than other insurance companies, so be prepared to put some time in or to pick up the phone and continue working with an agent if you hit your limit.

Allstate does not provide price information. So getting a personal quote is your only path. Fortunately, quotes are free and you should be able to get the answer you need via email, although a phone call is always an option.

Remember that you can add rideshare coverage to an existing Allstate auto policy, or you can purchase standalone coverage. If you want to keep your auto coverage with your current insurer, Allstate could be a great option.

Get Started With Allstate

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The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Car Share Insurance

The Hartford Small Business Insurance

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.5

Features5.0

Customer Service3.0

User Reviews3.0

Pricing

Varied. Average general liability is $88/month

Types of insurance offered

30+ policy types

Time to receive quote

Usually same-day

Pros

  • Coverage available for car shares
  • Fast personal price quotes
  • Complete auto coverage from personal cars to commercial fleets

Cons

  • May be expensive
  • Not available in all states

Why We Chose The Hartford For Best Car Share Insurance

The Hartford is one of the few major insurance companies we found that offers supplemental coverage for people who want to rent their personal vehicles through companies like Turo.

Types Of Coverage Available From The Hartford

The Hartford writes commercial auto insurance policies for all kinds of vehicles. If it has wheels and a motor, The Hartford probably will cover it.

However, while The Hartford can write a policy to cover car owners who want to arrange short-term car rentals through a company like Turo, The Hartford does not offer rideshare insurance or coverage options for gig drivers doing deliveries.

The Hartford Insurance Pricing

Like most insurance companies, The Hartford offers personalized pricing. Contact the company for your free quote.

Your pricing will depend on factors like the type of coverage you’re seeking, your driving record, your location, your claims history, and more.

Get Started With The Hartford Small Business Insurance

Read our in-depth review

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Next Business Insurance: Most Affordable For Deliveries

Next Business Insurance

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.9

Features4.3

Customer Service3.5

User Reviews3.1

Pricing

Starting at $11/month

Types Of Insurance Offered

8+ policy types

Time To Receive A Quote

Instant online quotes

Pros

  • Affordable pricing
  • Bundle discounts
  • Instant quotes

Cons

  • Third-party claims service

Why We Chose NEXT As Most Affordable Insurance For Deliveries

NEXT is a newer insurance company, and it's aimed squarely at small businesses that are looking for different features, services, and pricing than bigger companies. So it's no surprise that NEXT lands on our list of the best insurance for delivery drivers, because while gig workers put the "small" in the words small business, you need to find partners in insurance, banking, and so on that meet you where you're at and fulfill your needs.

Types Of Coverage Available From NEXT

NEXT offers commercial auto insurance for small businesses that includes coverage for delivery drivers. You may need to add what’s called “hired and no-owned auto” coverage if you want to get protection for using a personal vehicle for work.

You cannot use NEXT insurance with rideshare apps, however.

NEXT Pricing

One of my favorite things about NEXT is how easy it is to find pricing information. Many larger insurance companies like to gather all your information and make you wait a bit. NEXT, on the other hand, publishes its average rates while letting you know that your rate may be higher or lower, depending on the usual factors like your location, vehicle type, driving record, and so on.

We know that NEXT’s commercial auto coverage starts at $12.50/month, although a majority of NEXT customers will pay a higher rate. The company says that 20% of its customers pay less than $100/month for commercial auto insurance.

If you decide to add hired and non-owned insurance, basic coverage starts around $7/month.

Get Started With Next Business Insurance

Read our in-depth review

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Business Insurance Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business insurance since 2020. Our writers have tested over twenty different major insurance companies. In each review, we evaluate pricing, features, customer service, and user reviews.

Read more about how we rate business insurance providers.

When comparing different business insurance companies, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the number of standard insurance policies available, and the ability to create custom policies. Our lists of the best business insurance providers include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points and often share qualities such as low cost, a variety of niche business insurance policies, multiple ways to file claims, and excellent customer support.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, ensuring that the business insurance companies included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

The Bottom Line On Delivery & Rideshare Insurance

Rideshare and delivery insurance is a business-facing product aimed at non-businesspeople, for the most part.

For one thing, unlike commercial auto insurance, rideshare insurance usually attaches to your personal auto insurance. For another, you may be making a living as a driver, but you might not think of yourself as a small business owner.

That needs to change.

If you’re making a living or a successful side hustle as a gig driver, you may not be taking advantage of all the resources available to help you as a small business owner.

That means thinking about your business future, adding affordable benefits, securing your finances, and planning.

Ready to take your work to the next level?

Next Steps:

Rideshare & Delivery Driver Insurance FAQs

What is the cheapest insurance for delivery drivers?

NEXT offers commercial auto insurance that includes protections for delivery drivers. NEXT pricing starts as low as $12.50/month.

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Kymberlin Bush

Kymberlin Bush

Staff Writer
Kymberlin started contributing to Merchant Maverick as a freelancer in 2022 and joined the team as the full-time small business health insurance expert in 2023. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Pacific University in 2020 and continues to reside in Portland, Oregon.
Kymberlin Bush
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