Can a Car Be Insured Without Insurance

[281mustang]

My question involves insurance law for the state of: Texas

I know, I know. Hear me out though.

I'm thinking about starting a taxi company. If I don't insure the cars but only hire drivers that are insured on any car they drive as part of their personal policy, is that legal?

Thanks!

[tenaciousmom]

Texas requires auto liability insurance. The bare min. You have to think this through because if one guy wrecks a car,how are you going to replace it? That's work/$ out the door. Just get the ins & be covered & then you won't have more problems down the road for trying to save a few bucks today. If you lose 3 cars in 1 day,your out of an income if that's your fleet. Best of luck to you.

[281mustang]

Are you saying the driver's personal policy wouidn't carry over to my cars?


I really don't care much about the cars. I live in a college town, so I was thinking about starting a company using cheap 100k+ mile Hondas which would allow me to knock off 20%+ off the competition via creating an extremely small overhead. If I don't have to pay insurance I could knock down prices even further. There is quite a bit to be money getting tossed around during the weekends at the local hot spots in regards to taxi services, cheap drunk college kids couldn't care less about car quality and are only interested in getting home as cheap as possible.

Not to mention the fact that Hondas have extremely high insurance rates being that they get stolen so often. Just 24 months worth of insurance on a car would more or less equate to my entire investment into the car itself. I have more to gain than lose by taking a risk if I'm legally able to do so.

[LawResearcherMissy]

I'm thinking about starting a taxi company. If I don't insure the cars but only hire drivers that are insured on any car they drive as part of their personal policy, is that legal?

It's my understanding that you will still need fleet insurance, even if your drivers are independent contractors who own their own vehicles and carry commercial (chauffer's) insurance (as is the case with most taxi companies). This is to protect you, your company, and your business assets.

Without fleet insurance, if a passenger is injured in one of your taxis and sues your company, you may well find yourself bankrupt. Look for recommendations from other taxi companies.

[281mustang]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

It's my understanding that you will still need fleet insurance, even if your drivers are independent contractors who own their own vehicles

What if they don't own their own vehicles and are using mine? Would their personal policy still legally give the car insurance?

[LawResearcherMissy]

They can't just use a personal policy. They need chauffer's insurance, and that will not provide you with any protection if, as I noted, someone is injured and sues your company.

Seriously, if you want to start this business, protect yourself and do it right. While I understand your desire to be super-competitive, you'll be rethinking that when you have to sell your house to pay off the lawsuit.

[raziya]

Driving without insurance is a serious offense which can result in an immediate disqualification from driving.

[flyingron]

In addition in most of the metro areas in Texas, both the driver and the cab company must have the appropriate licenses. The licenses will almost always MANDATE you have insurance for the company. In addition there are other requirements such as the designation of the cars being used which are subject to age and other rules. If you're going to serve the major airports, they almost all require separate licensure and some place additional security procedures on the drivers involved.

This is not something you can casually do. You need to investigate the involved regulatory environment.

[Who'sThatGuy]

In the state of Texas, one must show proof of liability insurance to register a vehicle.

That said, how are you going to register a vehicle if you don't have insurance coverage?