Coverage
Coverage by period
While you are logged on and available but have not accepted a ride, South Carolina requires at least $50,000 of coverage if you injure one person, $100,000 per incident, and $50,000 for property damage.
That property damage figure is worth noticing. Most states we cover require $25,000 or $30,000. South Carolina requires twice the common minimum.
The requirement can be met by your own insurance, the platform's, or a combination of both.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Coverage for uninsured drivers is also required and is covered separately.
What could change: Low near-term risk.
Coverage by period
From the moment you accept a ride until it ends, South Carolina requires at least $1,000,000 of primary coverage for death, injury, and property damage.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: This covers harm you cause to others. Damage to your own car is a separate question.
What could change: Low near-term risk.
Claim process
Which insurance covers a rideshare accident depends on what your app was doing at the moment it happened. That data sits with the platform.
South Carolina requires the platform and any insurer that might be covering the claim to cooperate and exchange that information during a coverage investigation - including your precise log-on and log-off times for the twelve hours before and the twelve hours after the accident.
They must also tell each other clearly what coverage, exclusions and limits apply.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: This is a duty between the platform and the insurers. We have not confirmed what you are entitled to receive directly, or how to ask for it.
What could change: Low near-term risk.
Coverage by period
Partly verified.What we confirmed is below. What we have not checked is named in the notes.
DoorDash covers you once you have accepted an order, through delivery. While you are online waiting, DoorDash says your own insurance is primary. DoorDash does not publish a coverage amount for the states we cover, so we are not showing one.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: DoorDash publishes figures for Boston, North Dakota, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia. None of the states we cover is among them, and the general section gives no amount. A widely repeated $1,000,000 figure comes from DoorDash's marketing page rather than the state-specific terms.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Damage to your car
DoorDash's insurance does not cover damage to your own vehicle. DoorDash's own page says those damages are your responsibility and should go to your own insurer, subject to what your policy covers.
This is different from Uber and Lyft, which do offer something for your own car - though only if you already carry comprehensive and collision, and with a $2,500 deductible.
DoorDash also warns on the same page that a personal policy may not cover you while you are delivering. So this is not a case where the platform declines and your own insurer picks it up. Whether you are covered depends on your policy.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Whether your own policy covers delivery driving depends on your policy. Ask your insurer about delivery specifically - not just rideshare.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Coverage by period
Partly verified.What we confirmed is below. What we have not checked is named in the notes.
Uber describes Uber Eats coverage on the same page as rideshare, but says the amounts vary by state. We have verified the New York exclusion and have not yet verified the other states we cover.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Uber states that coverages and limits vary by state. We have verified the New York delivery exclusion and have not verified how this applies in the other ten states we cover.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Coverage by period
Partly verified.What we confirmed is below. What we have not checked is named in the notes.
Instacart says shoppers are responsible for their own auto liability insurance, and it accepts auto claims. What coverage Instacart itself provides, when it applies, and whether it protects you are unverified - so we are not showing figures.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: We could not confirm any coverage amount, what triggers Instacart's coverage, its terms, or whether it protects you rather than Instacart. Different accounts of this contradict each other and none of them come from Instacart, so we are not showing figures.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Coverage by period
Partly verified.What we confirmed is below. What we have not checked is named in the notes.
Amazon provides free commercial car insurance to delivery partners in every state except New York, covering harm to others, uninsured drivers, and damage to your own car. Amazon does not publish the amounts or the deductible, so we are not showing any.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Amazon names the kinds of coverage but publishes no dollar limits, no deductible, and no insurer. A $1,000,000 liability figure, a $50,000 vehicle-damage figure, a $1,000 deductible and a named carrier all circulate without support from anything Amazon publishes.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Coverage by period
Partly verified.What we confirmed is below. What we have not checked is named in the notes.
Amazon says its coverage applies only while you are 'actively delivering during the delivery block.' Amazon does not define what that includes, so we cannot tell you whether the drive to the station or the time between stops is covered.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Amazon does not define the phrase. Whether it begins at block start, station check-in, first package scan, or departure is unknown, as is whether it ends at last delivery, block end, or return of undelivered packages.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Personal policy exclusions
Personal policy exclusions
South Carolina allows any insurer writing car insurance in the state to exclude all coverage for a loss while you are logged onto a rideshare app or carrying a passenger.
The law goes further than most. An insurer that excludes you this way also has no duty to defend or pay the claim the claim - so it is not only that they may decline to pay, they may decline to provide you a lawyer.
The law permits this; whether your policy does it depends on your policy. Ask about a rideshare add-on before you need one.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: We have not read any particular insurer's policy language.
What could change: Low near-term risk.
Personal policy exclusions
This catches more drivers than anything else on this site.
The platforms' coverage for damage to your own car sits on top of your personal policy. It only exists if you already carry comprehensive and collision yourself. If you carry liability only, there is nothing to sit on top of - the platform's coverage never starts.
Separately, most personal policies exclude driving with the app on at all. Some insurers sell an add-on that covers it, and it has to be bought before a loss.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Whether your own policy excludes app-on driving depends on your policy. Several states write that permission directly into law.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Personal policy exclusions
Verified in part.One element of this answer has not been re-checked. See the notes.
If you bought a rideshare add-on for your personal policy, do not assume it covers delivery.
DoorDash warns on its own site that such an add-on may not provide complete coverage while you deliver. Its example: the add-on might cover damage to your vehicle before you accept an order, but not during an active delivery.
When you call your insurer, ask about delivery specifically. Asking about rideshare may get you an answer that does not apply.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Whether DoorDash's coverage sits before or after your own policy is not stated for the states we cover, and we have not resolved it.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.
Personal policy exclusions
Worth knowing before it matters rather than after.
Amazon's FAQ says that if anyone other than the Amazon Flex delivery partner is driving when an accident occurs, the claim for any losses will be denied.
If you are renting or borrowing a car to deliver, Amazon says you need to make sure you have the required coverage yourself.
Limits of this answer
What we have not checked: Amazon does not say what happens if a second registered delivery partner is driving, or how it verifies who was driving. It also does not say whether your own policy would respond in that situation.
What could change: Platform policy - can change without any law changing.