Turo is a peer-to-peer car-sharing service that lets you rent another person’s vehicle. Much like Airbnb — where you stay in a home owned by someone else rather than a hotel room — Turo lets you drive another person's car (rather than a vehicle from a fleet of rental cars).
But whether you’re a Turo 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 an additional 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
Host
The person or company offering a car for rental. Turo has two types of hosts:
- Peer-to-peer hosts, or an individual offering a car for rental.
- Commercial hosts, or a company offering a car for rental.
Guest
The person renting a vehicle.
Trip price
For a guest, the trip price is the car's rate multiplied by the number of days you rent the vehicle. A car might have a higher rate on certain days, such as weekends or holidays.
For a host, the trip price is the amount you make when a guest rents your vehicle.
Deductible
The dollar amount that gets subtracted from a claim payout. Read more about insurance deductibles.
Liability car insurance
Also called “third-party insurance,” liability insurance pays for damage in an at-fault accident. This can refer to property damage, such as repairs to another person’s car, or bodily injury if someone is hurt in a crash.
Turo car insurance for guests
Turo offers Premium, Standard and Minimum levels of protection for renters in the U.S. These protection plans limit the amount of physical damage that the guest is responsible for paying. Higher levels cost more but provide extra benefits.
No matter the plan you choose, you may still be responsible for paying for mechanical and interior damage.
- Responsibilities for physical damage: Guests aren't responsible for paying out-of-pocket costs for physical damage.
- Other costs: Guests may still need to pay for excess mileage costs, tickets, tolls and fuel.
- Restrictions: Must be 21 or older to buy. Not available for all vehicles or trips.
Standard
- Responsibilities for physical damage: Guests’ responsibility is limited to $500.
- Restrictions: Guests ages 18 to 20 years old can choose this plan.
Minimum
- Responsibilities for physical damage: Guests’ responsibility is limited to $3,000.
- Restrictions: Guests ages 18 to 20 years old can choose this plan.
Turo includes liability insurance to drivers on every trip. In most states, guests receive their state’s minimum amount of liability insurance and other types of coverage. In some states Turo allows guests to buy up to $300,000 of extra liability insurance.
Can a guest decline Turo’s protection plan coverage?
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. Before you decline Turo’s plan for your own insurance, 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.
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.
If you decline protection from Turo, you won't be paying for insurance, which might seem like a good thing. But the downside is that there’s no limit to the amount you might be responsible for paying if you damage the host’s car.
» MORE: Rental car insurance explained
Turo car insurance for hosts
If you’re someone posting your car on Turo, you probably want to make sure it’s protected from damage and theft. Turo offers three different protection plans for peer-to-peer hosts, with varying levels of benefits.
Turo takes part of your trip price (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 at minimum $750,000 of third-party liability insurance. 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).
More peace of mind plan
- Plan price: 30% of trip cost. (Host keeps 70%.)
- Deductible: $250.
Balanced plan
- Plan price: 20% of trip cost. (Host keeps 80%.)
- Deductible: $1,500.
More earnings plan
- Plan price: 10% of trip cost. (Host keeps 90%.)
- Deductible: $2,750.
» MORE: Rideshare insurance for drivers
What about off-trip insurance?
Through a revamped offering, Turo offers what's called Turo Host Services. Part of the newly-launched service hub is insurance.
Turo offers off-trip car insurance through embedded insurance company Tint, which was custom-designed for Turo hosts. This insurance covers vehicles that you use only on Turo. This plan provides coverage when your car isn’t being used on a trip.
It's not available in every state, and hosts must have at least three vehicles listed on Turo in order to apply for coverage. The coverage also only covers vehicles driven for business use, meaning that if you're driving the vehicle for your own personal uses, you’ll need to get personal insurance instead.
See what you could save on car insurance
Easily compare personalized rates to see how much switching car insurance could save you.
