How Does Turo Insurance Work?
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Insurance coverage on Turo works differently from typical rental car insurance, because Turo is a peer-to-peer company. Both hosts and the guests renting cars need to have insurance. In either case, you have several options that increase in price the more coverage you choose.
Not all insurance companies will cover a car you rent on Turo. Check with your company before you rent to figure out whether you'll be protected while renting from Turo.
How Turo insurance works for hosts
Turo offers five levels of protection to hosts, the people who own the cars and allow others to rent them through the platform:
- 60 plan
- 75 plan
- 80 plan
- 85 plan
- 90 plan
You'll choose one of these insurance levels when you make your car available on the Turo website or app. They're all provided by Travelers, a major US insurance company.
All five protection plans include up to $750,000 of liability protection, which covers you if you're liable for a crash. This coverage is essential, even though you won't be driving the car. For example, it could apply if improper maintenance leads to a crash, in which case you'd likely be held legally responsible.
Each plan also includes coverage for physical damage, up to the actual cash value of the car or $200,000 — whichever is less — minus the deductible.
Plan | Deductible |
|---|---|
| 60 plan | None |
| 75 plan | $250 |
| 80 plan | $750 |
| 85 plan | $1,625 |
| 90 plan | $2,500 |
The 75 and 60 plans also include a few extras.
- Turo will pay you $30 (75 plan) or $50 (60 plan) per day for a replacement vehicle while yours is being repaired (up to 10 days).
- The 60 plan also includes protection for wear and tear on your car, plus reimbursement for loss of income while the car is being repaired (but only in lieu of paying a replacement vehicle stipend).
The cost of insurance for Turo hosts
The cost of each level of insurance is based on a percentage of the total rental amount you charge. The number in the name of each plan represents the percentage of each trip price that the host keeps at the end of a rental. The remaining percentage is the fee charged by Turo.
Note: That fee is all that Turo charges to host on its platform, so it also covers the cost of listing.
Plan | Fee charged by Turo | Portion of trip price kept by host |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 40% | 60% |
| 75 | 25% | 75% |
| 80 | 20% | 80% |
| 85 | 15% | 85% |
| 90 | 10% | 90% |
Does my personal car insurance work with Turo?
It's highly unlikely that a standard car insurance policy for personal use will cover your car while someone else is renting it on Turo. Those policies aren't designed and priced to cover a business where your car is driven by a stranger every week or weekend. So don't reject Turo's coverage and rely on your own policy.
You'll still need your own car insurance policy to host on Turo. Nearly every state requires car insurance to register and drive a private vehicle. Turo also requires you to have coverage, but you don't need to buy special coverage from your regular insurance company.
In some states, your car insurance company can prohibit you from renting your car on Turo. In California, Oregon and Washington, though, insurance companies cannot cancel or decline to renew policies for car sharing.
Unfortunately, no evidence could be found of any Turo-friendly insurance companies. Progressive, Geico, Liberty Mutual and State Farm agents all said they will not insure vehicles for car sharing services, such as Turo.
Alternative for professionals: Commercial car insurance
You're allowed to opt out of Turo's coverage and instead buy your own commercial car insurance policy. If you own a car exclusively for renting on Turo — and especially if you have multiple vehicles — this may be the right option for you. In this case, Turo will keep 7.5% of the amount you charge guests to rent your car.
However, you won't receive any help from Turo if your car is damaged or stolen. So only insure your car this way if you understand what's required of you.
For example, you'll be responsible for helping your guest with roadside assistance if the car breaks down, which Turo would take care of if you use their protection. You'll also need to submit proof of your commercial insurance to Turo to skip its insurance policy.
How Turo insurance works for guests
People who rent on Turo need insurance, too. You're not obligated to buy coverage from Turo, but you should understand what you get when buying a protection plan from them, as well as the trade-offs of forgoing that coverage.
Turo offers three protection plans for physical damage for drivers: Minimum, Standard and Premier.
- Minimum coverage includes the state minimum for liability coverage in the state you're renting in and a deductible of up to $3,000 if the car is damaged (not including interior or mechanical damage, for which you're responsible).
- Standard coverage includes the state minimum for liability coverage and lowers the damage deductible to $500.
- Premier coverage includes the state minimum for liability coverage and removes the damage deductible entirely.
You may also decline Turo's physical damage protection plans, but you'll still receive the state minimum of liability protection, as it'd be illegal to drive without it. However, by declining, you're responsible for the full cost to repair or replace the car if it's damaged, lost or stolen.
Note: The Premier option is not available if the vehicle is worth more than $60,000 — or $25,000 for certain vehicles.
With all three options, you will be responsible for mechanical damage and damage to the inside of the vehicle.
Unlike personal car insurance , Turo's coverage doesn't include any extras like personal injury protection or uninsured motorist coverage, except where it's required by law.
Cost of insurance for Turo guests
The price of each level of insurance is based on the cost of the car rental. Premium protection is 65% of the cost of your rental, Standard is 40% and Minimum is 18% to 25%.
Level | Liability coverage | Cost | Damage charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier | State minimum | 65% of the trip price | No charge |
| Standard | State minimum | 40% of the trip price | $500 max |
| Minimum | State minimum | 15%–25% of the trip price | $3,000 max |
| Decline | State minimum | — | No coverage |
When renting on Turo, you always get the minimum car insurance legal in that state. This also includes personal injury protection and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in states that require it.
Do I need to buy insurance when I rent from Turo?
You are not required to buy car insurance when renting a car. It's up to you to decide. But the first thing to know is that it's very unlikely that any other source of protection will cover damage to your rental car while driving. This includes your own car insurance policy and credit card benefits. This means you're responsible for any damage to the car while it's in your care, up to the total cost of the vehicle.
Liability coverage is equally important, though you may already have some coverage if you have a policy for your own vehicle or purchased nonowner coverage. In this case, your liability coverage likely applies no matter what vehicle you're driving. In fact, Turo's liability coverage is considered secondary, so you'll have to exhaust your own limits before Turo's kick in.
Additionally, every car on Turo has the minimum required coverage for the state you rented it in, even if you choose the "decline" option.
Can I use my credit card rental coverage?
Some credit cards include free loss damage waiver (LDW) coverage as a benefit.
Every credit card rental insurance benefit works slightly differently, but you shouldn't assume your card will protect you while driving a Turo car.
Most credit card rental car benefits only apply when you rent from a rental car company like Budget or Enterprise. Some specifically exclude peer-to-peer companies like Turo. The only way to be sure is to check with your credit card company.
What is a Turo auto insurance score?
One way Turo evaluates the reliability of potential guests is by looking at your insurance score, also called your credit-based insurance score. This number, based on your credit history, is used by auto and home insurance companies to evaluate the strength of your credit.
The auto insurance score criteria include how much debt you have and whether you pay your bills on time. Turo doesn't create the auto insurance score directly. The number is created by TransUnion, a credit reporting agency.
Unfortunately, if you have a low auto insurance score, you may not be eligible to rent a car from Turo, even though the score is not tied to your driving ability.
How to work with a commercial host
Some cars on Turo are owned by small car-rental companies, rather than people operating on their own. The primary difference for guests is that these companies use their own commercial car insurance policies. You won't be able to buy any of the coverage options from Turo.
If you're concerned about a host's reliability, check their reviews. The more positive ratings a host has from other drivers, the more likely they'll be a responsible host, no matter the situation.
Some commercial hosts include the insurance rate as part of the daily rate, while others charge separately. This will be detailed in the rental agreement. Check with your host if you're unsure how you are covered. You'll also work directly with your host if anything goes wrong during your rental, rather than making a claim through Turo directly.
Sources: Turo insurance for guests Turo vehicle protection for hosts
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