Food Delivery Auto Insurance: Rates & Requirements (2023)
Food delivery auto insurance is crucial for the many food deliverers at work in this country. However, many drivers don't know how much auto insurance coverage they need, how much is provided to them by their app-based company, or if their current personal auto insurance policy is enough in the event of an accident on the job. Read more to find out everything you need to know about food delivery auto insurance and compare quotes from the top insurance companies.
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Rachael Brennan
Licensed Insurance Agent
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states. After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health in...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Jun 27, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We partner with top insurance providers. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Jun 27, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We partner with top insurance providers. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.
On This Page
- You are required by law to carry auto insurance on your vehicle, but this coverage might not be enough if you use your personal vehicle to do food deliveries.
- Some companies will provide you with additional commercial auto insurance while you are working to protect you on the job, but in some cases, this may only extend to the time when you are actually on a delivery.
- The laws in your state, the company you work for, and your insurance company will dictate how much auto insurance you are required to carry.
Food delivery is an essential occupation that has become even more crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people use their cars to make deliveries for Uber Eats, Doordash, GrubHub, Postmates, and more. Each one of these companies has their own policies when it comes to how much auto insurance their drivers need to carry.
However, many people fail to realize their auto insurance companies have their own policies when it comes to how you use your car. Most insurers do not allow you to use your personal vehicle for business purposes. In many cases, your personal auto insurance policy will not be sufficient coverage, and your insurer will likely ask you to add commercial auto insurance to your policy.
Food delivery auto insurance is essential, but it can be confusing to know where your coverage is coming from and how much coverage you have. Are you covered by your company? Will your personal auto insurance policy cover you on the job?
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Will my personal auto insurance policy cover me while I am delivering food?
Generally, using your vehicle to make food deliveries falls outside of the typical guidelines for personal auto insurance policies. What does this mean for food delivery drivers? If you get in an accident on the job, you risk any claim you make to your insurance company being denied since the accident will fall outside of the insurance guidelines in your policy.
You have to understand that working as a food delivery driver increases the amount of risk associated with insuring you. Therefore, most insurance companies will not allow you to use your car for deliveries under your personal auto insurance policy.
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What insurance options do food delivery drivers have?
People who work food delivery jobs have a couple of options when it comes to their auto insurance. The first option is to buy a commercial auto insurance policy. These insurance policies cover you and your vehicle while you’re on the job, and you can probably get a solid deal on a commercial policy if you buy it from your current auto insurance provider and bundle it with your personal policy.
Check out the table below to see the average minimum and maximum costs of commercial auto insurance by vehicle type.
Vehicle Type | Minimum Annual Rates for Commercial Auto Insurance | Maximum Annual Rates for Commercial Auto Insurance |
---|---|---|
Car | $600 | $2,400 |
Semi | $8,000 | $12,500 |
Cargo/Delivery Van | $3,300 | $6,200 |
Limo | $4,000 | $6,000 |
Cab | $5,000 | $10,000 |
As you can see, commercial auto insurance isn’t too costly, and it could save you a lot of time and money down the road.
Another option food delivery drivers have is to speak with their auto insurance company about adding business-use coverage to their existing policy. This coverage may or may not be available from your provider and the costs of adding this coverage to your personal policy will vary based on where you will be working, how much you will be working, your driving history, and more.
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What happens if I don’t tell my insurance company I work delivering food?
Lying to or omitting important information regarding your employment and the use of your vehicle from your insurance company could land you in some hot water. As we touched upon earlier, your personal auto insurance policy might not cover you if you get in an accident while delivering food.
If your insurance company discovers you lied about your employment or how the car would be used, they can deny any claims made or even drop your auto insurance coverage completely. If you lose your insurance coverage, you probably won’t be able to work making food deliveries for companies like Uber Eats because they require you to carry personal auto insurance.
Do Uber Eats and other app-based companies insure me while I am delivering food?
If you work to make a living or maybe just a little bit of extra spending money delivering food with an app-based company like Uber Eats or Doordash, you are probably wondering if they carry insurance for you. Every app-based company has different insurance policies and coverages so it is important to check with your company to learn the specifics of your coverage.
Uber Eats, for example, provides its drivers with liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage while they are out making deliveries. The caveat here is that you need to be on a delivery for the coverage to kick in. Waiting to get an order or driving to the restaurant to pick up food does not count, and in these situations, if Uber Eats does cover you, it will be reduced coverage.
Doordash offers drivers $1 million in liability insurance while on delivery, but this insurance does not kick into effect until after your personal auto insurance has been exhausted. As you can see from these two examples, any coverage offered by your app-based company is going to be sparse at best and may not even cover you. Your best bet is to carry your own commercial or business-use insurance.
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What’s the bottom line?
You need to carry your own auto insurance when delivering food. Most food delivery drivers use their own cars and work for app-based companies that offer very little coverage or insurance coverage only at specific times when they are on delivery.
Commercial auto insurance does not cost that much to add to your existing coverages. If you’re ready to compare affordable food delivery auto insurance quotes, enter your ZIP code below.
Enter your ZIP code below to compare auto insurance rates.
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Rachael Brennan
Licensed Insurance Agent
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states. After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health in...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.