Posted by Does USAA Car Insurance Cover Turo? As a USAA member, you probably know that they offer excellent car insurance policies. But what happens when you want to rent out your vehicle through Turo’s popular peer-to-peer car-sharing platform? Will your USAA auto insurance still protect you?
I explored this tricky question thoroughly. Below, I’ll provide a comprehensive overview of How Turo’s car-sharing service works, Research on USDA’s specific policies regarding Turo
- Insurance options offered by Turo
- Steps to take to confirm your coverage. e.t.c
Let’s get to it!
Understanding Your USAA Car Insurance Policy
USAA offers standard auto insurance coverages like liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments, and uninsured/underinsured motorists.
Liability pays for injury or damage that you cause to others, collision covers damage to your car from accidents, comprehensive protects against theft and environmental hazards, medical payments provide injury coverage for you and your passengers, and uninsured/underinsured motorist protects you if the at-fault driver has inadequate or no insurance.
USAA also offers a range of optional add-ons to customize your protection. These can include roadside assistance, rental reimbursement, ridesharing coverage, and more. Their policies are designed to cover personal use of your car. But does that extend to car sharing services?
How Does Turo Work?
Turo is a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace that allows you to rent out your personal car. As an owner, you create a listing that outlines the availability, pricing, and rules for your vehicle. Renters browse listings in their local area and book in advance, typically for 1-14 days at a time.
Turo handles the booking transaction but the owner and renter interact directly for pickup/dropoff. You earn income while your car isn’t being used, while renters access more affordable and unique vehicle options. It’s also seen as an alternative to traditional car rental services.
Does USAA Car Insurance Cover Turo?
This is where things get complicated. Standard personal auto insurance policies, including USAA’s policies, are designed to cover personal use of your car only. They do NOT provide coverage for commercial activity like renting your car to paying customers.
So if you list your car on Turo, any damage, accidents, injuries, or incidents that occur during a trip booked through Turo would NOT be covered by USAA. Their policies exclude commercial use, period.
This applies even if you only plan to rent your car out occasionally vs. using Turo as an ongoing business. As soon as you accept payment to rent your car to strangers through Turo, you are engaged in commercial activity that violates the terms of your USAA personal auto policy.
What Insurance Options Does Turo Offer?
Fortunately, Turo provides some backup insurance options to help fill this gap in your USAA protection:
Turo’s Basic Protection Plan
This plan is mandatory for all vehicles listed on Turo. It provides third-party liability insurance from Liberty Mutual which covers injuries to your Turo renters and damage you may cause to external objects. It has policy limits of $750,000 for injuries and $750,000 for property damage.
The basic plan does NOT cover any physical damage to your actual car during a Turo trip. And there is a $3,000 deductible that the car owner would need to pay in claims.
Turo’s Premium and Commercial Host Insurance Plans
Turo offers two optional insurance upgrades if owners want more protection beyond basic liability:
- Turo Premium – Adds coverage for damage to your actual car with policy limits up to your car’s actual cash value, minus variable deductibles.
- Commercial Host Insurance – Provides enhanced coverage similar to Turo Premium but the policy is directly with Liberty Mutual rather than Turo. Deductibles are lower and there is liability protection above Turo’s $750,000 basic limits.
These plans cost extra but help fill gaps between Turo’s basic coverage and what USAA would normally cover for personal use. Even with the upgrades, there are still some notable coverage differences compared to your USAA policy.
USAA vs. Turo Car Insurance Compared
When it comes to the specific coverages provided, there are some key differences between your USAA personal auto insurance policy and the various insurance options offered by Turo:
Liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage is included in both your USAA policy and Turo’s basic protection plan. However, USAA policies tend to have higher limits while Turo’s basic plan is capped at $750,000. Upgrading to Turo’s Commercial Host insurance can increase liability limits to $1 million.
Collision and comprehensive coverage to fix damage to your actual vehicle are included under your standard USAA policy but NOT included in Turo’s basic plan. You’d need to purchase Turo’s Premium or Commercial Host upgrades to get collision and comprehensive protection. However, the Turo plans come with higher deductibles compared to USAA.
Uninsured motorist coverage is provided by USAA but none of Turo’s protection plans. Similarly, USAA offers medical payments coverage whereas Turo does not at any level.
Finally, while USAA policyholders can add rental reimbursement as an optional extra to cover costs of renting a temporary replacement car while theirs is repaired, Turo’s insurance plans do not include any rental reimbursement provisions.
So in summary – key items like collision, uninsured motorist, medical payments and rental reimbursement would NOT be covered under a standard USAA policy if you list your car on Turo. The Turo premium upgrades help fill some but not all of those gaps.
Watch Out for Coverage Gaps
The key exclusions to be aware of if you rent your car through Turo without adjusting your USAA policy:
- Damage to your car – Only covered by Turo if you purchase Premium or Commercial Host insurance
- Injuries to passengers – Not included in any Turo policies
- Need for a rental car – USAA rental reimbursement doesn’t apply to Turo claims
- Limitations on liability protection – Lower limits than your USAA policy
Additionally, there are some general risk factors to keep in mind:
- Higher deductibles through Turo before coverage kicks in
- Questionable screening/vetting of Turo renters vs. commercial rental companies
- Lack of uninsured motorist protection under Turo’s plans
- Voiding of your USAA policy terms by renting your car commercially
Steps to Get Confirmation from USAA
Don’t just take my word for whether Turo rentals violate your USAA auto policy. Take these proactive steps:
- Carefully review your USAA declarations page listing coverages, limits, deductibles, and exclusions. Make sure you understand all provisions
- Explicitly contact USAA’s customer service and ask whether renting your car through Turo violates the terms of your policy. Get rep confirmation in writing.
- Ask USAA what specific policy changes would be required or recommended in order to legally rent your car through Turo without losing personal policy protection.
- Consider scheduling a call with a USAA agent to discuss Turo rental questions and have them reaffirm policy details in real time over the phone.
Weighing Insurance Alternatives for Turo
If you confirm that listing on Turo forfeits USAA protection, you’ll need backup coverage. Here are some options to discuss with insurance professionals:
- Add Turo’s Premium or Commercial Host insurance for dated Turo rentals
- Explore specialty insurance like short-term rental coverage
- See if rideshare add-ons apply to Turo-type rentals
- Investigate small business commercial auto policies
The best solution depends on your risk tolerance and how often you plan to rent through Turo. Combining Turo’s backups with targeted policy endorsements may provide sufficient protection. But costs add up quickly – analyze the math carefully.
Conclusion on if Does USAA Car Insurance Cover Turo
I hope this detailed overview clarifies the trickiness around mixing USAA car insurance with Turo car sharing rentals. In short – proceed with extreme caution as significant gaps in coverage may apply.
Always directly confirm with USAA about policy impacts and secure backup specialty insurance tailored for short term rentals if moving forward.
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