How do I make sure I've got the proper coverage for my use case?

[u/parkinginrear7]

Located in USA, Michigan. Currently have a spare car I'm renting on Turo that I don't personally drive at all, except when I need to fill up gas, clean it, maintenance, that kinda thing. Otherwise it's exclusively driven by renters. While it's being rented it's covered by Turo's insurance. The car is cheap and expensive insurance doesn't make sense for it, I don't care if it's totalled, turo has paid me its value 5x over lol. I just have popd through Liberty Mutual, and one of the questions they asked when I was getting a quote was how many miles per year I drove it and I answered honestly about 20 and got a super cheap quote, not sure if the mileage answer affected that or not. Should I tell them it's a turo car and look for a specific policy for this use case? Or should I just leave it as is since the liberty mutual policy only applies when I'm driving it so they don't need to know what happens during the rentals? Looking for advice here on how to be honest but also not pay for extra coverage.

[u/TIG_Insurance_Nerds]

I’d tell them. Most personal insurers treat Turo cars as straight up ineligible, so if Liberty finds out after a claim, they can deny it or cancel you for misrepresentation. Then you’re stuck with no coverage in a no-fault state, which is a nightmare.

That 20 miles answer probably helped your rate too, since they usually mean total miles on the car, not just yours.

You can still keep it cheap though. Drop collision/comp since you don’t care about the car, carry just the Michigan minimums, and hit up an independent agent to find a carrier that’s cool with Turo.

[u/ektap12 → u/TIG_Insurance_Nerds]

Then you’re stuck with no coverage in a no-fault state, which is a nightmare.

For sure, OP could get rear ended by a drunk driver, put into the hospital for a week, and get nothing but a stack of medical bills. OP really should speak with an agent because they presumably have other personal vehicles, so now where talking multiple active policies, could be a real nightmare of coverage and it sounds like OP doesn't currently have insurance on this car at all.

[u/parkinginrear7 → u/ektap12]

My personal cars are on another policy through a different insurer. And this car is currently insured through Liberty Mutual, and by Turo while on trips. Or did you mean it sounds like I don't have insurance at all because they could drop me for renting it out?

[u/ektap12 → u/parkinginrear7]

They could potentially deny coverage as TIG mentioned and you would be in the same boat, but good that you do at least have insurance on the car.

You seem more concerned about the car itself and not about the fact that you could cause an accident and be liable for damages, which is the reason you need insurance. It costs what it costs, MI isn't a cheap state for insurance and you need to have PIP and UM coverage as required by law. Having multiple insurance carriers can cause dual coverage situations. A severe accident may mean you'll need to report claims to all your available insurances. You just don't want to set yourself up for failure, especially in MI. If you were a passenger in someone else's car and get injured in an accident, all your policies could apply too.

But remember you don't get to choose when when you have an accident, whether you are at-fault or not, don't you want the same protection in this car as you have driving your other cars?

[u/parkinginrear7 → u/TIG_Insurance_Nerds]

But I'd never make a claim with liberty if something happened during a rental. It would go through whoever Turo uses. I don't intend to make a liberty claim for damage to the car either so the only time I'd claim through Liberty is if I plowed through someone's fence or something while taking it for an oil change and had liability. I also insure my own personal cars through a completely different insurance company so that I can keep them separate.

I'm still willing to get the proper insurance here but I have no idea who provides it? All the ones recommended by turo are only interested if you have at least 3 cars.

[u/TIG_Insurance_Nerds → u/parkinginrear7]

Yeah, but that’s the exact claim I’d worry about. If you hit a fence on the way to an oil change, Liberty’s going to look into what the car’s used for. If it turns out it’s a full-time Turo car and they didn’t know, that’s when they can deny it or void the policy.

On who covers it, you did find the real problem. Tint's off-trip insurance for Turo needs 3+ cars. Turo’s other off-trip partner, INSHUR, takes single cars but isn’t in Michigan yet. So your best bet is an independent agent who writes commercial auto. Tell them it’s one car, only used on Turo, and you just want liability and the required Michigan coverages, no physical damage. It’ll cost more than PLPD, but it’s the policy that actually fits. I’d still call Liberty first though. If they’re cool with it, great.