If you are an Uber, Lyft and other Transportation Network Company (TNC) driver you'll need more than your personal auto insurance because there are gaps in the coverage.
TNC services three Drive Period.
Period 1:
App open – waiting for a match.
Period 2:
Match accepted – but passenger not yet picked up (i.e. driver is on his/her way to pick up the passenger). Period 3:
Passenger in the vehicle and until the passenger safely exits vehicle.
Ride-hailing coverage like that one that Mercury Insurance offer is design to fill the gaps and provide TNC drivers with insurance coverage that will protect them throughout the entire drive cycle. So if drivers get into an accident in any portion of the drive cycle and are liable they will be insured up to the limits of coverage purchased.
Mercury's ride-hailing insurance increases drivers' personal auto policies to cover Period 1 through Period 3 of the drive cycle, this will fill the gaps and gives the driver protection not provided by ride-hailing companies. Their ride-hailing insurance will also fix the insured's vehicle in a covered loss if those coverage have been purchased from Mercury. In addition, if the policies provided by both the TNC and Mercury include coverage for the insured's vehicle, then the Mercury policy will pay for any "gap" between the higher deductible on the TNC policy and the lower deductible on the Mercury policy.
