Drivers for Uber and other ride-sharing apps will need separate insurance to drive in Indiana, under legislation set for final approval today.
Ride-sharing drivers currently face a catch-22: most of those companies provide insurance only once a passenger is in the car, but most auto insurers consider you a car for hire from the moment you accept a passenger and won‘t cover you.
House Insurance Chairman Matthew Lehman (R-Berne) says not only are the ride-sharing companies willing to extend their reach, but insurers may rethink their policies, to avoid being shut out of a rapidly growing market.
“The ride-sharing companies have coverage, but it’s a very limited coverage when someone’s in your vehicle, and that’s the only time,” Lehman says. “So we kind of have this gap in making sure that as people got in these vehicles, they should know they’re insured, they’re legal.”
The bill also requires a background check before you can drive for a ride company. Lehman says most ride-share apps already do that, but the law will provide a safeguard against less scrupulous companies.
“The law of these transportation networks are doing all these things but we don’t write laws for the people who are doing it the right way. We write them for the people who want to enter in this business and decide to do it in a less safe way,” Lehman says.
