Car sharing insurance

Commercial car sharing companies are different to traditional car rental companies because they have lots of vehicles parked all over the cities they operate in. So, instead of going to a physical car rental office, you use an app to find a car or van parked near you. You can usually get a car at any time of day or night (depending on availability). And you don’t actually need to interact with anyone to get access to the rental car.

Everything is done online, often through an app, with the cost of fuel and congestion charges, for example, usually factored in. Depending on the company you use, you could rent the car by the minute, hour or day. You might also be able to choose between doing a round trip, where you drop the car back where you left it, and a one-way trip, where you drop the car at your end destination.

There are some downsides. It could be more expensive than borrowing a car from a friend, for example, and you also might be restricted in terms of the type of car you can rent. There are also often requirements regarding your age and driving history. Also, they tend to operate in more urban areas - so probably won’t be an option for those living in smaller towns or in rural parts of the UK. And there might be a mile-limit on the rental – for example, one car sharing company allows you to drive 60 miles per day, but then you pay an extra 29p per mile after that. It can quickly become costly.

Peer-to-peer car sharing is where people lend out their own cars. So unlike in commercial car sharing schemes, someone actually owns the car that is being borrowed. The finer logistics of peer-to-peer car sharing vary from platform to platform. For example, some include insurance and breakdown cover within the rental price. But others give you the option to buy the level of cover you want as a ‘protection package’.

Cuvva's temporary insurance is a form of peer-to-peer car sharing, as it allows you to borrow any car in minutes. You just find a car to borrow, choose how long your policy will last, and then buy your comprehensive Cuvva. Easy! Car owners can even charge a small fee, so they can make some extra cash while helping someone else get on the road. It’s quick and easy to sort out, all through the app. You only ever pay for what you need, as you can get temp cover from one hour up to 28 days. If you need extra time, you can extend your policy or buy a new one with just a few taps in the app. If you’re the car owner, you can lend out your car to someone safe in the knowledge that they’ll be using their own standalone car insurance policy - so your insurance won’t be impacted if something happens.

If you’re lending out your car via peer-to-peer sharing, it’s up to you to keep it clean and disinfected for each user. There are expectations on the borrower to leave it in a good condition, too.

If you don’t need a car that regularly, it’s pretty safe to say you’ll spend less going down the car sharing route than owning a car. There are tons of costs involved in car ownership, from the upfront cost of the car to insurance, maintenance and repairs, interest and, of course, fuel. Cars also go down in value (except some classic models). So you need to factor depreciation into the overall cost of owning the car, as well.

A recent survey on behalf of Cuvva found more than 1-in-5 British drivers use their car 10 times or fewer in a month - with the average car owner of the 2,000+ drivers we polled spending £145 per month on car costs. Owning a car can quickly become an expensive outlay, especially if you’re only using it rarely. Car sharing costs can add up too, though. So it might not be the cheapest option for those who need to, say, commute to work everyday. Put simple, it depends on your personal situation and how often you expect to drive.

Our survey revealed 19% of drivers would consider selling their car if they could borrow one as and when they needed to. And 16% would lend out their car if they could charge a fee and the other driver was fully insured on their own policy. With Cuvva, you can borrow a car or lend out your car with just a few taps of the app. Even better, car owners can now charge a fee when they lend out their car, helping to offset the cost of car ownership. Policies are always comprehensive, and car owners can have complete peace of mind with borrowers driving under their own policy - so their no claims bonus is not at risk. It only takes a few minutes to get a quote.