Insurance: personal vehicle sharing

The law shifts specified third-party injury and property-damage liability from car owners to sharing programs while substantially increasing required coverage.

What the law does ​

• Requires a personal vehicle-sharing program to cover an owner's liability to injured third parties during a sharing period.
• Sets minimum coverage at $250,000 for one person's injury or death, $500,000 for all injuries or deaths in one incident, and $100,000 for property damage.
• Keeps the program liable until the car reaches its designated return location and the rental period ends, termination is communicated, or the owner retakes control.
• Requires the program to defend and indemnify an owner sued over a loss occurring while another person or the program controlled the car.
• Excludes the coverage requirement when an owner conspires with a driver who fails to return the shared car under the agreement.

Who it affects ​

• Personal vehicle-sharing programs.
• Owners who list private passenger vehicles on those programs.
• Drivers, injured third parties, and auto insurers involved in claims during a sharing period.

Context ​

A car owner's personal auto insurer may exclude coverage for losses occurring during vehicle sharing, while the program must meet these coverage duties.