When one person owns a car and drives the same automobile, then that same car owner needs to pay for the automobile insurance. So, what happens when several people share a vehicle? Who needs to provide coverage for any damage that is caused by an on-road incident?
Each ride share company has its own way of handling issues that relate to liability and insurance
One company asks the authorized drivers of any shared vehicle to cover the $500 deductible. If an incident takes place while an unauthorized driver sits behind the steering wheel, then that driver gets asked to cover a $2,000 deductible.
A competing company expects authorized drivers to cover $1,000 deductible. Despite that larger deductible, the same company gives each driver a warning. It warns that no driver should assume the agency’s ability to cover liability, comprehensive and collision.
What is the message in that warning? It lets all of the agency’s drivers know that if one of them were found liable for an accident, then that same responsible individual could be asked to cover all of the accident-related expenses. A third agency, one that competes with the other 2, provides its customers with the chance to sign an optional waiver. Any customer that has agreed to sign that waiver has the cost of any damage from an accident waived, unless the driver/customer had been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.
Tips for someone that plans to use any car sharing service
If you do get involved in an accident, let your Injury Lawyer in Mississauga report the incident to the offices of the ride sharing company. Document every aspect of the same accident. Take pictures of the damage and of any injuries. If an officer arrives on the scene, get the officer’s name and badge number. Once you have that information, it should be easier to obtain the police report.
See if there are any witnesses at the scene of that particular incident. Speak with the witnesses. Get their contact information. Protect yourself against the chance that you might get charged for damage that was on the vehicle when you and your group drove away from the agency. You can do that by taking pictures of the set-of-wheels that you and the members of your group plan to use.
Once you have documented the presence of damage at a time before you drove off with the ride share group, then you can fight any claim that you caused that same damage. Of course, you will find it easier to fight such an allegation if you get in touch with a lawyer. Some lawyers now specialize in ride-sharing issues.
