Insurance: personal vehicle sharing.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how the law affects individuals who do not use car-sharing programs or the exact conditions under which a car owner's actions can limit liability.

Insurance Rules for Car Sharing

This law changes how insurance works when people share their cars with others through a car-sharing program.

What This Bill Does

• Changes rules about who is responsible if someone gets hurt or something breaks while sharing a car.
• Sets minimum amounts of money that must be covered by insurance for injuries and damage to property.
• Limits the liability of a private owner in case of an accident involving shared cars.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who share their cars with others through a car-sharing program
• Car-sharing programs that connect people who want to use shared cars

Terms To Know

Liability

The responsibility for paying damages if someone gets hurt or something is damaged.

Minimum coverage amounts

The least amount of money that must be covered by insurance in case of an accident.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not explain how this law will affect people who do not use car-sharing programs.
• Does not specify the exact conditions under which a car owner's actions before sharing their car can limit liability.

Official Summary Text

AB 2361, as amended, Pacheco.
Insurance: personal vehicle sharing.
Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including automobile liability insurance. Existing law prohibits classifying a private passenger motor vehicle as a commercial vehicle, for-hire vehicle, permissive use vehicle, or livery solely because its owner allows it to be shared, if specified criteria are met. In the event of a loss or injury that occurs during any time period when the vehicle is under the operation and control of a person other than the vehicle owner, existing law requires the personal vehicle sharing program to assume all liability of the owner and is considered the owner of the vehicle for all purposes.
Existing law limits the liability of a private owner to the amount of $15,000 for the death of or injury to one person in any one accident and, subject specified circumstances, $30,000 for the death of or injury to
more than one person in any one accident, and $5,000 for damage to property of others in any one accident.
Existing law requires a personal vehicle sharing program to provide insurance coverages for the vehicle and operator at a minimum of $45,000 for bodily injury or death for one person, $90,000 for bodily injury or death for all persons, and $15,000 for property damage, and, on and after January 1, 2031, to provide liability coverage at least 3 times the minimum insurance requirements for private passenger vehicles.
This bill would, instead of requiring a personal vehicle sharing program to assume all liability of the owner, require the program to assume liability of the owner for bodily injury or property damage to injured third parties resulting from personal vehicle sharing in amounts stated
in the personal vehicle sharing program agreement,
in amounts not less than the $15,000, $30,000, and $5,000 described above.
which shall not be less than the minimum coverage amounts described above. The bill would make these provisions inapplicable if the vehicle owner engages in specified actions, including making an intentional or fraudulent material representation to the personal vehicle sharing program before the car sharing period in which the loss occurred.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF