MAPFRE becomes an insurer approved to offer gap coverage for rideshare!

The Department of Insurance has formally approved a filing by San Ramon-based MAPFRE to begin offering gap coverage for rideshare drivers. As a result, the Bay Area’s largest private passenger and commercial automobile insurer says it begin offering gap coverage starting May 1, 2017.

“As a market leader in auto insurance, MAPFRE is committed to providing our customers with innovative products that fit their full lives and evolving needs,” said John Kelly, Senior Vice President, Northeast Region.

“With the growth of ridesharing activity across the state, we know thousands of drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft need appropriate protection. Guided by the leadership of the Governor and Legislature, MAPFRE is proud to be among the first carriers in the Commonwealth to offer an auto insurance endorsement that will help close a potential gap in the coverage available for Transportation Network Company drivers without appropriate coverage. We encourage our customers and agents to discuss this new coverage feature with customers who are active ridesharers.”

With this announcement, MAPFRE  becomes a top 3  insurer in California to offer this type of gap coverage to drivers of rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft.

MAPFRE made the formal announcement of this new coverage following the implementation of  legislation with respect to the type of coverage rideshare companies and drivers must carry for vehicles used in this capacity. According to Mapfre, the new endorsement “…offers critical coverage to drivers when they turn on a rideshare app and provides protection until they accept a passenger request.”