GEICO Govt Employees Ins COmpany Lyft Driver Discrimination (Uber, Sidecar, Ride Share) Chevy Chase, Maryland

 the reality is that you are required to have commercial insurance. If your auto insurance company finds out that you are using your vehicle to deliver food, passengers, then you have to have commercial insurance. Now you may find another company to ensure you but trust me if they ever find out that you are using your car whether passengers are no passengers they are legally able to drop your insurance.

You should feel lucky Geico cancelled your policy right now, and not after you got into an expensive wreck (which is only a matter of time and statistics).  No insurance company in their right mind is going to want to insure what is basically an illegal, unregulated taxi service on a personal insurance policy.  They might take your money for a while, but I guarantee that your policy does not cover commercial use (which this is, even when there aren't passengers in the car).  Then, after you get a big claim, they are going to retroactively cancel your insurance for misrepresentation and fraud (i.e. stating that the vehicle is not used commercially).  Of course, the Lyft clowns are not going to tell you that, they want to dump the legal liability on the gullible people who drive for them.

You are not going to want to hear this..but you are 100% WRONG(well..perhaps 90%).

You are correct that there is a bill going though the CA Legislature that would require Uber and other "Cyber" Taxi's to carry insurance.  But while it has been approved it has not been signed nor put into law.

But when it does, depending on the specifics, who do you think is going to pay for that?  Uber?  Nope....If they have increased cost they are going to have to do something to make up for it.  What could this be?  Well they could reduce the amount of money they pay the drivers.  Or they could raise their rates..making them a less attractive alternative.

Then on your insurance company.  I can guarantee you that GEICO isn't the only one that doesnt' "understand", you will find that most insurance companies once you tell them you are using your vehicle for comercial purposes are going to in no short order..run the other way.  So if you are totally honest with them from the beginning and they still insure you...then you should consider yourself very lucky.

Oh and yes, if you are in denial about being a commercial vehicle.  If you are taking money for driving people around your car is a COMMERCIAL vehicle.  If you think you can get away with not telling them.  Okay, when the insurance company ask for your estimated milage per year and you only work 5 miles from your house, how are you going to explain driving all of those extra miles?  Because even if a majority of those miles are for "business", the last time I checked cars don't have two odometers.

Oh and you say that will never happen.  Okay well let me tell that there is actually very recent history to prove it will.  Look at EBay, when EBay started people were selling on-line all tax-free and not reporting this new found income.  Well the IRS after a few years figured it out and actually went so far to create a new clasiffication for the 1099, in creating the 1099-K that is for reporting income from on-line sales.  Meaning that now by law EBay MUST report to the IRS how much sellers are making.  So it could be just a matter of time for the IRS to catch up(if they haven't already).  When that time is I have no idea.  It could be tommorow, it could be next year, it may even actually be never(but I wouldn't put any money on that).

Not only that but did your newer car come with any warranties or did you purchase any warranties.  Well get ready for your next shock.  By using your vehicle for commercial purposes you have just voided any warranty you have.  Because if you read the fine print you will see that commercial use is not allowed.  Now you may ask how would the warranty company find out...well I have no idea.  But I can tell you that many years ago people selling on EBay were saying something very similar.."Oh well how would the IRS ever know how much I am selling"