When you are looking for a job, the last thing most people are thinking about is their car insurance…unless it is to wonder how they are going to pay it without a job. One of the newer types of jobs that have come into being in the last few decades, is food delivery. From pizza to Chinese, people are ordering out when they do not feel like going somewhere to eat. With that, came the need for a new type of job…the delivery driver.
It seems like a sweet deal. I mean you get to drive around all day, deliver a few pizzas, get paid, and get tips. Perfect right? Well, maybe…if it is done right, but the problem is that most often it isn’t, and people don’t find out until it is too late. The problem is that when someone is hired to deliver pizza, they are almost always told that all they need to provide is proof of liability insurance with their personal auto insurance carrier. Of course, the next thing you are told that in the event of an accident, call themfirst…before you call the police!! Hmmm, what do you suppose that is all about? Well, I’ll tell you.
Your personal auto policy doesnotcover delivery!! The claim can very easily be denied. The reason your new boss wants you to call them first is so they can get the evidence out and off of your car…hopefully before police arrive. You see delivery…of any sort, is a business use of your vehicle, and requires commercial insurance. To do pizza delivery correctly, your boss should have a delivery car…that he/she owns and insures commercially, for you to drive, or at the very lease, they should pay your additional expenses to make sure you are covered correctly. But this isalmost never the case, leaving you in the position of taking care of yourself.
I am not telling you not to take a job as a delivery driver. What I am telling you is to talk to your agent about whether or not your current policy will cover those activities. You might find out that the cost to do this correctly is not so bad, and more importantly, you might save yourself a lawsuit down the road. Talk to your agent today if you are currently making deliveries…it can make a monumental difference in your life in the future.
