The short answer
Rideshare and delivery insurance fills the gaps between a personal auto policy, which commonly excludes driving for pay, and whatever cover the app arranges, which usually applies only during parts of a trip. It is often added as an endorsement to your own policy. A licensed broker can explain which insurers accept app driving, how each period of a shift is covered, and what you need to disclose.
- People who drive passengers through a ride-hailing app in their own vehicle
- Couriers delivering meals, groceries or parcels by car between other jobs
- Students and retirees who pick up app shifts a few evenings a week
- Drivers who started app work and never mentioned it to their insurer
- Households where one shared car is also used for delivery shifts
4 licensed brokers in the network handle this. In Alberta, Canada, a request for rideshare and delivery insurance can be offered to up to three of them, chosen because they are licensed for this line and place. They are test brokers while we are in demo.
See the brokers → Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Your personal policy
The base policy for commuting and errands. Many personal policies exclude using the vehicle to carry paying passengers or to deliver goods for a fee, so without a change the app hours may sit outside it.
Ride-sharing endorsement
A written addition that some insurers offer to extend a personal policy to app driving. What it covers, which periods it reaches and which apps it recognises all vary, so read the endorsement itself.
The platform's own policy
App companies commonly arrange commercial cover that applies once a trip is accepted and until the passenger or order is dropped off. It may carry its own deductible, and it may not pay for damage to your car unless your own policy includes collision.
The app-on waiting period
The stretch when the app is open but no request has been accepted is where gaps most often appear. Ask which policy responds then, for liability, for your own injuries and for damage to your vehicle.
Accident benefits
Every Alberta auto policy includes accident benefits for injuries. Ask how those benefits work when the injury happens during a paid trip, and whether a passenger is covered by your policy or by the platform's.
Delivery-only use
Carrying food or parcels is not the same as carrying passengers, and some insurers treat it separately. Ask whether occasional delivery is allowed on the policy as written, or needs an endorsement of its own.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- The apps you drive for, and whether you carry passengers, food, groceries or parcels
- Roughly how many hours a week the app is switched on, and on which days
- Your estimate of kilometres driven for app work compared with personal driving
- Any vehicle requirements the platform set, such as vehicle age or an inspection
- The platform's summary of the insurance it provides, from its driver help pages
- Your current auto policy, with any endorsements already listed on it
- Who else in the household drives the same vehicle
- Claims or tickets for every driver, including anything that happened during a shift
A broker will ask
- Which kinds of app work do you do: passengers, food, groceries or parcels?
- When did you start, and has your current insurer been told?
- How many hours a week is the app on, and how many of those hours have a passenger or order aboard?
- Does anyone else drive the car, and do they also use it for app work?
- Do you run more than one platform at the same time?
- Is the vehicle financed or leased, and does the lender know it is used for paid driving?
- Do you take longer trips outside the city, such as airport runs or trips between towns?
- Is the vehicle registered at, and kept overnight at, the address where you live?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A teacher driving evenings for a ride-hailing app
A high school teacher in Calgary started taking passengers on Friday and Saturday nights to pay down a line of credit. Three months in, she noticed her renewal notice says nothing about paid passengers, and she has never mentioned the app to her insurer.
First steps. Before the next shift, gather the app start date, a rough log of hours and the platform's insurance summary. Ask the broker whether her current insurer offers a ride-sharing endorsement, and if it does not, which insurers do and what a switch would involve.
A student delivering meals in a hatchback
A university student delivers meals for two apps during the lunch and dinner rushes, logging most of his kilometres downtown. He carries no passengers and assumed food delivery would not count as business use.
First steps. Write down both apps, the hours spent on each and the share of kilometres driven while working. Ask the broker how delivery is treated under the policy he already has, whether running two apps at once matters, and what changes if he adds grocery orders.
A shared family minivan used for app shifts
A couple in Edmonton share one minivan. One of them drives passengers on weekends, while the other commutes in it on weekdays, and the kids are dropped at practice in it most evenings.
First steps. Tell the broker that only one listed driver does app work, and bring both licence histories and the weekly driving pattern. Ask how an endorsement applies to a shared vehicle, and what happens if the other partner ever switches the app on.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Ride-sharing endorsement
- A written change to a personal auto policy that extends it to app driving. Its wording sets which apps, which periods and which kinds of trips are included.
- App-on period
- The time when a driver app is open and you are available for work, whether waiting, heading to a pickup or carrying a passenger or order.
- Transportation network company
- The term regulators and insurers use for a business that connects riders or customers with drivers through an app, rather than through a taxi licence.
- Material fact
- Information that would change an insurer's decision to offer cover, or the terms it offers. Using the car to earn money is generally treated as one.
- Business use
- Driving that earns income or serves work, as opposed to commuting and errands. Insurers define it in their own words, so app work may or may not fit inside it.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Assuming the app company's insurance covers every minute the app is open, including time spent waiting for a request.
- Starting app work without telling your insurer, then learning after a collision that paid driving was excluded.
- Treating food or parcel delivery as personal use because there are no passengers aboard.
- Forgetting that a deductible under the platform policy may be yours to pay after a claim during a trip.
- Adding a second platform, or moving from deliveries to passengers, without updating the policy.
- Letting another household driver use the car for app shifts when the endorsement names only you.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles rideshare and delivery insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
Does my personal car insurance cover rideshare driving?
Often not on its own. Many personal auto policies exclude carrying passengers for pay or delivering goods for a fee, so app driving can fall outside them unless the policy is changed. Some insurers offer an endorsement that extends cover to app work. The only way to know is to read your wording and tell your broker exactly what you do and when.
What does the platform's insurance cover?
App companies commonly arrange a commercial policy that responds during accepted trips and deliveries, sometimes with lower limits while you are waiting for a request. It may have its own deductible, and it may pay for damage to your own vehicle only if you already carry collision. Read the summary the platform publishes for drivers in your province and bring it to your broker.
What are app-on periods?
Drivers and insurers often split a shift into stages: the app is off, the app is on and waiting, a request has been accepted and you are on the way, and a passenger or order is aboard. Different policies can respond at each stage. The waiting stage is the one most likely to leave a gap, so ask about it by name.
Do I need to tell my insurer if I only drive a few hours a week?
Yes, tell them. The amount of driving changes how it is rated, but the fact that you drive for pay is treated as a material fact on most applications. Leaving it out can give an insurer grounds to question or deny a claim, even one that happened on a personal errand. A broker can help you describe the hours accurately.
Is food delivery treated the same as driving passengers?
Not always. Some insurers handle meal, grocery and parcel delivery under a different endorsement or rule from passenger driving, and some allow limited delivery on a personal policy. Others exclude it entirely. Ask the broker to confirm in writing how your kind of delivery is treated, including whether using two apps at once changes anything.
Will rideshare driving affect what I pay?
It can, because the vehicle is on the road more, often at night and in busy areas. How much depends on the insurer, the endorsement and how many hours you drive. A broker can compare insurers that accept app driving and show how the cover and cost change, so you can weigh it against what the shifts actually earn.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.