How Does Turo Insurance Work?
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If you’re not familiar with Turo, it’s a peer-to-peer car-sharing service that lets you rent another person’s vehicle. As with Lyft or Uber, you’ll be in another person’s car, but instead of paying someone to take you where you want to go, you’ll be the one driving. You can also rent a vehicle from a commercial host, such as an independent rental car company.
No matter how you’re using Turo, whether you’re a host (the person lending out your car) or a guest (the person renting the vehicle), you’re required to have car insurance.
Turo isn’t a car insurance company. However, they do offer protection plans through Travelers for a fee.
We’ll break down what you need to know about auto insurance when driving or renting with Turo.
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Key terms to know
Turo car insurance for hosts
Before renting out your car, you’ll want to make sure it’s protected from any damages. Turo offers five different protection plans for peer-to-peer hosts, with varying levels of benefits.
Turo takes part of your trip price, or the earnings you make each time someone rents your car, to pay for your selected protection plan and operating costs. The more expensive the plan, the less you earn, but the more benefits you receive.
All plans include $750,000 of third-party liability insurance. This insurance is secondary, which means you'll need to use any personal auto insurance coverage first before Turo’s coverage applies. Turo will also pay for eligible damage costs to your vehicle up to the actual cash value of your car or $200,000, minus the deductible (the amount that’s subtracted from a claim payout).
90 plan
Plan price: 10% of trip cost. (Host keeps 90%.)
Deductible: $2,500.
85 plan
Plan price: 15% of trip cost. (Host keeps 85%.)
Deductible: $1,625.
80 plan
Plan price: 20% of trip cost. (Host keeps 80%.)
Deductible: $750.
75 plan
Plan price: 25% of trip cost. (Host keeps 75%.)
Deductible: $250.
Rental reimbursement coverage: Up to $30/day, 10-day maximum.
60 plan
Plan price: 40% of trip cost. (Host keeps 60%.)
Deductible: $0.
Rental reimbursement coverage: Up to $50/day with a 10-day maximum, or pays for loss of hosting income while your vehicle is repaired.
Other coverage: Exterior wear-and-tear reimbursement.
» MORE: Rideshare insurance for drivers
Can a host decline buying Turo’s protection plan?
Yes, as a host, you can decline Turo’s car insurance if you have commercial auto insurance, which provides coverage if you’re using a car for business purposes. If you decline buying a plan, though, Turo won’t bear responsibility for any damage to your vehicle.
Also, if you decline Turo’s protection plan, the highest rate you can possibly earn when someone rents your car is 92.5% of the trip price (Turo keeps 7.5%). For example, if a guest books a trip that costs $200, you’ll receive $185 as the host.
Turo car insurance for guests
Turo offers three different levels of protection for guests: premium, standard and minimum. Higher levels cost more but provide extra benefits.
Premium
Cost: 65-100% of trip price. Minimum $14/day.
Third-party liability coverage: Up to $750,000.
Deductible: $0.
Restrictions: Must be 21 or older to buy. Not available for all vehicles or trips.
Standard
Cost: 40% of trip price. Minimum $12/day.
Third-party liability coverage: Minimum amount required by the state.
Deductible: $500.
Minimum
Cost: 18% of trip price if it costs less than $250, otherwise 25% of the trip. Minimum $10/day.
Third-party liability coverage: Minimum amount required by the state.
Deductible: $3,000.
Regardless of the guest protection plan you chose, you won’t be responsible for physical damage beyond the deductible. That said, you will be responsible for any mechanical or interior damage to the car. You'll also need to use any personal auto insurance coverage first before Turo’s coverage applies.
See what you could save on car insurance
Easily compare personalized rates to see how much switching car insurance could save you.
Can a guest decline Turo’s protection plan coverage?
Commercial host
If you plan to rent from a commercial host, you’ll be offered an insurance plan from that company — not Turo. Prices and plans vary, so make sure to review the coverage. For example, insurance may be included in the vehicle price, or it may be added as a separate fee.
You can decline a commercial host’s protection plan so long as you already have sufficient personal auto insurance coverage. Some commercial hosts may even require you to have personal insurance.
Peer-to-peer host
If you’re renting a car from a peer-to-peer host, you have two options: buy a protection plan from Turo or use a personal car insurance policy. Similar to when you rent from a commercial host, if you already have your own car insurance, you can choose to decline Turo’s protection plan. Before you do, though, make sure your personal policy extends to renting a car through Turo. Even if the policy applies to rental cars, it may not cover a peer-to-peer service.
» MORE: Rental car insurance explained
In general, car insurance policies differ based on coverage type. This means your liability insurance, for example, may still apply if you’re driving a borrowed car, but the same might not be true of comprehensive and collision coverage.
Also note that if you decline coverage, you’ll still receive the minimum amount of liability insurance required by the state from Turo. However, you’ll be responsible for any damage that happens to the car during your rental period.
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