Uber and Auto Insurance official discussion thread

[Hyperion]

ok so I am awful at using the search tool, so I will pose a question in this thread rather than open a new one.

Back in the beginning of June I bought a 2013 Skyactiv Mazda3 GS. I am using it primarily to drive for uber while I am in school. What sorts of things other than more efficient driving (something I am working on after having a heavy foot in my 2008 GT) can I do to improve my mileage?
My mechanic brother in law mentioned he got better gas mileage in his Ford F150 buy installing a cold air intake, and diamond tip sparkplugs.

Would either of these options be worth my time or money? And is there any other mods or things I can do to squeeze out the most KM to a tank?

Take a look at this math.
https://youtu.be/fgQPj90OrQE

[geobur]

Take a look at this math.
https://youtu.be/fgQPj90OrQE

Ok I appreciate your skepticism, and that you are trying to help.

But a few things. I've seen this video before and

1) this video is over a year old and a lot of things have changed
2) this is from an American perspective and not indicative of driving in Toronto
3) like any self employed contractor or small business as I'm sure you well know it takes work and isn't as easy as everyone thinks.

But let's go through a few of her points.

- As her first point she mentions the by mile rate an Uber driver earns...But completely ignored the fact Uber drivers also earn a certain amount per minute.
Currently in Toronto the rates are as follows CAD2.5 base fare, CAD2.75 booking fee (paid to Uber instantly so not actually an earning at all), CAD0.18 per min and CAD0.81 per km

- She mentions tax as a deduction as her second point not being charged by Uber and coming out of our income. Well as of July 1, 2017 Uber charges riders HST in addition to the fare. So that is something I just have to set aside and remit to the government through my own registered HST business number.

- The next point she brings up is depreciation, the Canadian government for purposes of taxes considers Uber drivers privately contacted taxi drivers, this allows me to claim all sorts of things. I can claim a portion of my gas, maintenance/repairs/cleaning, rent (office space for admin of my business), a portion of my phone bill since I am using data for business, and any other "business related expenses". There is also a formula for calculating depreciation of assets as far as I know and I believe I can claim a certain portion of that as well (I'm not 100% on that one though)

- On top of that since I am working for myself I need to make my own CPP contribution as well as cover the other half that the employers would normally contribute. This is also a claimable expense that at the end of the year lowers my gross income, which means I pay less taxes and clear more money

- She mentions buying a new car every couple years but this also can be a business expense and a certain amount of that can also be claimed

- she briefly mentions insurance once but in Canada Uber by law has been mandated to cover drivers while logged into the app and at any given time driving for Uber I am fully covered by their policy not mine. So as a full time student my "pleasure use" policy that I have on my car is cheap and I would be paying it regardless of ubering or not.

So really at the end of the day it's like any job or business. It takes work and you have to be responsible with how you budget and manage the finances. No business is an easy way to make money but Uber is extremely flexible and allows me to work around my school schedule. And before taxes I earn a weekly average anywhere between $22-26/h (or higher but I am throwing out base numbers) which is much better than most part time jobs with less flexible hours.

But regardless my interest was just trying to determine if there were any mods or maintenance I could do to improve gas milage to lower my gas expenses.

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

[CloudPump]

<SNIP>

- she briefly mentions insurance once but in Canada Uber by law has been mandated to cover drivers while logged into the app and at any given time driving for Uber I am fully covered by their policy not mine. So as a full time student my "pleasure use" policy that I have on my car is cheap and I would be paying it regardless of ubering or not.

<SNIP>

So many Nope's here.

First (small) Nope:
Canada doesn't have auto insurance laws. Provinces do.

Next:
Uber does not have any special policy that covers its drivers. Once upon a time, Uber claimed to have some magical policy that extended to its drivers but court filings showed it to just be a standard Non-Owned Auto policy in Ontario. This policy protects Uber (the corporation) in the event that they're named in a lawsuit because you (the driver) got in a crash/hurt someone/did something stupid. Non-Owned Auto in no way covers you (the owner).

Onwards:
If your vehicle is rated "pleasure use" this is at worst, insurance fraud but more likely would be pursued as misrepresentation. If you are using the vehicle for Uber, which is generating money for you, this is the textbook definition of commercial use.

Insurance has changed and adapted to Uber, there are two companies I can think of off the top of my head that allow Uber driving, Intact and Aviva, but you have to have special endorsements onto the policy to ensure that you and the people you're driving are covered in the event of a loss.

-Geoff

[geobur]

So many Nope's here.

First (small) Nope:
Canada doesn't have auto insurance laws. Provinces do.

Next:
Uber does not have any special policy that covers its drivers. Once upon a time, Uber claimed to have some magical policy that extended to its drivers but court filings showed it to just be a standard Non-Owned Auto policy in Ontario. This policy protects Uber (the corporation) in the event that they're named in a lawsuit because you (the driver) got in a crash/hurt someone/did something stupid. Non-Owned Auto in no way covers you (the owner).

Onwards:
If your vehicle is rated "pleasure use" this is at worst, insurance fraud but more likely would be pursued as misrepresentation. If you are using the vehicle for Uber, which is generating money for you, this is the textbook definition of commercial use.

Insurance has changed and adapted to Uber, there are two companies I can think of off the top of my head that allow Uber driving, Intact and Aviva, but you have to have special endorsements onto the policy to ensure that you and the people you're driving are covered in the event of a loss.

-Geoff

Wrong as of July 7, 2016 Uber covers drivers fully

https://www.uber.com/en-CA/blog/onta...er-in-ontario/

I've discussed this at many lengths with my insurance broker and he said at this point I don't even legally have to inform my insurance company that I drive for Uber because the coverage is paid for by Uber. Provided by Intact Insurance.

I have attached the certificate of insurance for your perusal.http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/59b19d20...ntario_COI.pdf

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

[gta_driver]

I can confirm that Uber provides insurance coverage for its drivers. My niece was involved in an accident while driving for Uber last year. Her coverage came through Intact Insurance, and had nothing to do with her personal insurance. She informed her personal insurance, and they told here there are no changes needed to her policy, as they are completely out of the picture.

[CloudPump]

I can confirm that I just got off the phone with Intact insurance and they still require an endorsement to your policy (if you're insured with Intact) to allow you to drive for Uber.

Think of it like this: Your mom says you can't have any cookies. Your friend's mom says "go ahead, eat the cookies, if you get in to any trouble, I'll replace the cookies" While the cookies may be replaced, your mom is still pissed off and you get in trouble.

When you buy insurance, you transfer risk from yourself onto the company. Just because another insurance company says it's ok to do something doesn't make it ok by your company.

There *are* some insurance companies that are ok with you being an Uber driver. These companies *do* charge a premium for this. I can also confirm that the companies that are *not* ok with Uber are cancelling insurance on drivers.

-Geoff

[CloudPump]

Further discussion with Intact:

If you're insured with Intact and driving for Uber, you have to install Intact's app on your phone and sign into their app when you start driving for Uber. They will allow you to drive for Uber for free for XXX kilometres before they start charging a premium over and above. Your policy still has to be endorsed. Aviva will provide their version of an endorsement for free. Most companies will still cancel your insurance.

-Geoff

[Kiewan]

We need an insurance mega thread.

[m_bisson]

We need an insurance mega thread.

We already have one.

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/sh...ight=Insurance

[gta_driver]

Things possibly changed in the last year. The personal insurance company she had was not Intact, but her vehicle was covered completely under Uber's agreement with Intact.

- why do private insurance companies not want to insure Uber drivers, or want to charge them higher premiums if Uber provides insurance coverage?

Isn't it akin to having 2 different policies, one for personal use, and another for commercial use, applied to the same vehicle?

[Hyperion]

Things possibly changed in the last year. The personal insurance company she had was not Intact, but her vehicle was covered completely under Uber's agreement with Intact.

- why do private insurance companies not want to insure Uber drivers, or want to charge them higher premiums if Uber provides insurance coverage?

Isn't it akin to having 2 different policies, one for personal use, and another for commercial use, applied to the same vehicle?

Because you went from driving your car for 30 minutes two times a day, to "all day long" and 5x the risk now.

[Kiewan]

Things possibly changed in the last year. The personal insurance company she had was not Intact, but her vehicle was covered completely under Uber's agreement with Intact.

- why do private insurance companies not want to insure Uber drivers, or want to charge them higher premiums if Uber provides insurance coverage?

Isn't it akin to having 2 different policies, one for personal use, and another for commercial use, applied to the same vehicle?

Uber (ridesharing) still falls under most companies old policy wordings of taxi use/driving passengers for compensation. This is commercial use, not personal use. They either don't write commercial business, or are not interested in expanding/adjusting their filed rules to accommodate Uber because they do not want the business.

[gta_driver]

Because you went from driving your car for 30 minutes two times a day, to "all day long" and 5x the risk now.

The all day driving portion with 5x the risk is covered by Uber's insurance. There should be no change to personal insurance. The only time you drive for Uber under "personal insurance" possibly is when you leave your house and start driving towards your general "uber" area before signing in with the app - which is the same as commuting to / from work.

As soon as you sign in and ready to accept the first passenger, you're covered by Uber.

These can be maintained as 2 separate policies, with Uber providing commercial coverage, and your own insurance co providing personal insurance at all other times.

[Flunk]

If you drive for Uber you have to let your insurer know. Otherwise you risk them denying any claims you make while driving for Uber, if you can't prove the accident happened while a passenger was in your car. And be careful driving for Uber, because between time spent and expenses you can find yourself not making very much profit pretty easily. There are other, more profitable sidelines if you have the right skills. As an example I did web design while I was in university and made $50+ dollars an hour.

Make sure to save money to pay your income tax next spring, it can really kill you if you're a contractor. And don't try to hide Uber income from the government, the CRA is watching very closely. And be very careful with what you claim as business-related expenses.