Carpooling is a great way to save on gas as you share driving responsibilities with other people working in the same building or office complex as you. But there are some considerations you should make with regards to your auto insurance when you decide to carpool.
- Increase your liability coverage: With more people in your car, you’ve got more potential liabilities. Increasing your liability insurance coverage and adding an umbrella policy can help protect you from the personal financial liabilities that injured carpoolers could bring.
- Increase personal injury protection: Your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage provides medical and funeral expenses as well as lost wages to those injured in a car accident in your vehicle. Increasing this coverage will ensure that you have enough to cover all passengers.
- Reduce your miles driven: While you may be carpooling to save gas, you may inadvertently also be lowering your insurance bill. Tell your insurance company how many fewer miles you now drive to see if it affects your premiums.
- Give yourself time: Make sure to arrange your car pooling schedule so that it is easy to keep up with. Get up early enough to give yourself time to comfortably drive from home to home.
- Set a cut-off time: If someone in your carpool gets up late and needs to adjust the time that you pick them up, have a certain deadline for them to convey this information to you. That way, you can re-arrange your route accordingly instead of being late and driving faster in order to get everyone to work on time.
- Reconsider medical payment coverage: Medical payments coverage makes additional medical payments for your passengers if they are in an accident while you are driving. You may wish to increase this coverage in order to reflect the number of passengers you carpool.
When you carpool, the safety of others is your responsibility on the days you drive. Ensure that safety by taking your time, driving responsibly, and having sufficient insurance coverage. To increase your coverage or find out all the different factors that can affect your car insurance rates, give us a call at 866-933-6691 for a free Tampa car insurance quote.