Gearbox has returned!
It was launched as a vehicle for Mickey Kaus to blog about cars in 2001. He
managed one entry that year, followed by another one at the end of 2002. 2003
was the golden year for Gearbox: Mickey managed a full nine posts! He then fell
back to two in 2004, and three in 2005.
Today, Gearbox gets a new byline: that of Paul Boutin, who has decided to write
about Zipcar. It’s unclear whether this fills the Gearbox quota for the
year, or whether more posts are forthcoming.
And in any case you’ll learn much more about Zipcar from reading the Gothamist
comments thread than you will by reading Boutin’s article. Boutin is in
full-on boosterish mode, and seems to have carefully excised all possible criticisms
of Zipcar bar one: "My only beef with the service is they need to wash
the cars more often."
I’m a Zipcar member myself, and have recommended them to others, and they do
seem reasonably good at learning from criticism. Last year, for instance, they
implemented a policy limiting people to booking Zipcars for no more than five
weekends at a time, in an attempt to cut down on "zipsquatting". But
it’s often still very difficult to find cars at weekends; there are still no
Zipcars within a one-mile radius of where I live in downtown Manhattan; and
the much-vaunted XM Radios rarely seem to work.
But much more serious than all those problems is the insurance situation. I
sent Zipcar an email asking them for clarification about three weeks ago, and
have yet to receive a reply. The FAQ
seems pretty cut and dried:
Unlike rental car companies, we don’t make you pay more for basic insurance
coverage. Insurance is just part of your Zipcar membership. Nice, huh?
There’s a deductible of $500, but they say that even that might be covered
if you book with a credit card:
Zipcar recommends that all members try to use a credit card, like an Amex
or MasterCard Gold, that may provide a deductible waiver. It could save you
some cash. So get out the glasses and check your credit card’s fine print.
But of course Zipcar has fine
print of its own, which is not very easy at all to find. My emphasis added:
10.1.1 Any person authorized to operate a vehicle under these Rules is covered
by an automobile liability insurance policy to state minimum levels
as well as comprehensive and collision coverage…
10.2.1 You are responsible for the full value of any damages caused
to Zipcar’s property or the property of all third parties which are neither
covered by insurance nor by manufacturer’s guarantee while you are
responsible for the vehicle as described in section 6.5 of these Rules.
What does this mean in English? It means that if something happens to your
Zipcar, chances are that Zipcar’s insurance policy will cover it. That’s what
"comprehensive and collision coverage" means – it means damage
to your car, not to anybody else’s.
But of course if you get into any kind of accident in which another car is
involved, there’s likely to be some kind of damage to the other car as well,
and possibly to the occupants of that car as well. And in that case, Zipcar’s
liability insurance only goes to state minimum levels. After that, you’re liable
for everything.
What are state minimum levels? I believe that in New York, they are $25,000
per person for bodily injury and $10,000 for property, while in New Jersey they’re
$15,000 per person for bodily injury and just $5,000 for property.
Now I often take a Zipcar to New Jersey – if I’m going on an Ikea run,
for instance, my closest store is in Elizabeth. And there are lots of very expensive
cars in New Jersey. So what happens if I get into an accident with a Mercedes
in the Ikea parking lot, and the damage to the Mercedes comes to $15,000? The
damage to the Zipcar will be picked up by Zipcar’s insurance, after I’ve paid
a $500 deductible. But Zipcar’s insurance only covers $5,000 of the damage to
the Mercedes: the rest, $10,000, comes out of my pocket. So I’d be liable, in
total, for $10,500.
And if there was any kind of serious accident, causing bodily harm, then my
liability could be much, much greater. If an occupant of the Mercedes had to
go to hospital, and ended up with say $200,000 in medical bills, I would be
liable for $185,000 of that.
I’m pretty sure all this is true – that most people driving Zipcars think
they’re covered when in fact they might end up with very large uncovered liabilities.
But it’s not easy to get an answer out of Zipcar: maybe they’ll leave a comment
on this blog. And the Zipcar website is far from useful when trying to get answers
to questions such as these.
In any case, it’s certainly true that Zipcar does not offer an option of extra
liability insurance, probably because if they did offer it then the users would
be shocked to realise that they’d been going without it all along. According
to the insurance information institute, non-owner liability policies cost
about $300 per year: is this something that Zipcar members should be buying?
And if it is, shouldn’t Zipcar be tipping them off to the fact?
I am thinking of signing up for zip car. I will mostly need the car on Friday afternoons around 2 PM and on Saturday mornings. I live in Tribeca. Do I ever have hope of getting a car if I book the car at least a week or two in advance? Thanks so much!
Friday afternoons? Shouldn’t be a problem. I’m checking the site right now and there are a decent number of vacant cars in Lower Manhattan right now (it’s friday at 10:45 am as I write this).
Saturday may be a bit tougher, but if you are reserving a week in advance you should be ok unless it’s a real big holiday weekend. Right now I’m looking for Saturday next week, and there are a couple of cars available all day and others for a few hours. And if you are willing to go to the midtown area to pick up the car (where Zipcar has something like 200 cars) there is more availability.
I live in Jersey City, and right now we only have one spot with six zipcars, and they are always booked for the weekends well in advance. But in Manhattan you will obviously have lots more.
Wow! almost 3 months and nothing but silence from Zipcar? Since this is the first blog that comes up when you search for them, I would have thought they might want to address this very real issue. If, heaven forbid, someone ends up in the kind of accident-example you’ve shown, the whole industry is in for a rude awakening.
Wow! almost 3 months and nothing but silence from Zipcar? Since this is the first blog that comes up when you search for them, I would have thought they might want to address this very real issue. If, heaven forbid, someone ends up in the kind of accident-example you’ve shown, the whole industry is in for a rude awakening.
Interesting … I had not seen this blog before today, but I did e-mail Zipcar about 2 weeks ago asking about the liability insurance issue. No response yet.
In my message, I had also quoted the same paragraph from Zipcar’s website about how they don’t charge more for basic insurance coverage. I pointed out that this isn’t really the case, as the traditional rental companies do provide basic coverage as part of the advertised rental rates, but they also offer extended coverage for an additional fee. (For those who are curious, that fee seems to be about $10-13 per day in the NYC area, including NJ). My question was whether Zipcar offers that, as an addition to either the monthly/annual membership fee or the hourly rates.
Alright, check this out. Zipcar says you can get the $500 deductible covered by your credit card if it’s platinum or gold, as those types have collision insurance for rentals.
http://www.zipcar.com/help/generalinfo#insurance_policy
However, most (if not all?) CCs require that you waive the rental insurance in order for their insurance to take effect. But how can you do this if Zipcar automatically provides their insurance?? Either Zipcar has no idea about this, or they’re just throwing out a teaser for the risk adverse. Since Zipcar never answers their email, can anyone shed some light on why Zipcar would put out this misinformation?
I’ve been a member of Zipcar and CityCarShare in San Francisco for over 2 years. I’m very concerned about the lack of liability insurance with Zipcar. Citycarshare assumes that their drivers have no car insurance, so they spend the extra bucks for full liability coverage. Their a nonprofit, so they care about their members. Zipcar provides only the state minimuns, which in California are 15/30/5, which wouldn’t even cover most accidents. Their more concerned about their shareholders then their members.
I’m sure someone in Zipcar must have gotten into an accident by now. I’m very curious how well they handle it, and how much responsibility they take vs handing off to their members.
Just to be safe i’m purchasing my own non-owners car insurance. It’s only costing me $17 a month, and it pays for itself when i rent a car.
It’s pathetic that Zipcar doesn’t provide anything above state minimums. In bulk it wouldn’t cost them significantly more.
-Ziggy
I am glad that I found this blog. I have a situation to share with you; do with it as you may… My accident was April of last year (2006) and I never found out that I was liable for my accident until I got a letter from a third party biller (October 2006). Zipcar never kept me in the loop or informed me that I was responsible for anything OR that they had settled with the other insurance company (wonderful communication with the customer!) I found out after chasing people down at the insurance company that covers Zipcar, that my accident was only covered for 5K (MA minimum). The amount of damage to the other car was 19255.00 according to their insurance company….that means I have to cover the rest of it (>14K)!
I guess one good thing is that if I can give the insurance agency (or
collection agency-whatever they are) a lump sum, they deduct 50% on the
whole thing so I would only have to pay 7K . After doing my research w/ my insurance friends and a lawyer I guess this is normal practice for the third party billers that the other person’s insurance company sold the claim to. ZIPCAR should be clearer in their insurance statement so they don’t
come off as if they are going to pay for any accident that happens. Misleading the public to believe that they are fully covered could get them into false advertising claims. If they would have told me what they covered I could have filed a claim w/ my credit card company since I rented it w/ the card. But since there was a delay in telling me, coverage only runs for 30 days past the rental day! Since I live in Boston, I am making sure to tell all of my friends that they really are not covered fully by Zipcar and I would not suggest that they use them. I was a huge advocate to ZIpcar, but once I found out their misleading practices, I am no longer on their side.
Hi Felix, thank you for your interest in Zipcar and for giving us your valuable feedback about our insurance policy. Members are always our biggest cheerleaders and our best critics, and the service is of course for you so we are always striving to make it better. I hope our conversation this morning was helpful in furthering your understanding. Your thoughts and feedback were certainly valuable to us, and have led to some good discussions.
I hope that this post will help clear up any confusion about our insurance policy, but if you or your readers have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@zipcar.com.
In each state where we operate, our vehicles are insured to the state mandates. As you reference in your blog (and as an example), in NY there is coverage up to $50,000 for all persons injured in an accident, subject to a limit of $25,000 per individual, and $10,000 coverage for property damage. All Zipcar’s damaged in an accident are fully covered thru each member’s $500 deductible. A member will only be responsible for third party claims if they are deemed negligent or fully at fault during an accident. If this occurs, then members are typically responsible for costs above the insurance coverage.
Our decision to offer this policy is based on providing our members with adequate insurance coverage while keeping our rates affordable. With more than 80,000 members worldwide and 2,500 vehicles, we have found that our provided policy meets the needs of the vast majority of our members, while allowing us to offer low hourly and daily rates. If our policy does not meet the needs of members/potential members, we encourage members to contact insurance brokers in their state to learn about additional options that are available.
http://www.zipcar.com
Martin,
I had a very similar situation to you. I wonder how many of us are or have been in the same situation? I agree-false advertising claims are definitely a possibility. I would not have joined Zipcar if I had of known that their insurance is so limited. Is there any way to get in touch with you to discuss this matter?
Kristina,
The non-owners auto insurance policies which I guess you are referring to are indeed useful for those who rent frequently, perhaps more than 25 days or so per year. However, for those like me who rent less often, those policies are not worthwhile. I noticed Zipcar offers an “occasional driving plan” which seems to describe drivers like me; however, the insurance issue is one main reason why I use traditional auto rental agencies rather than Zipcar. From what I’ve experienced, the traditional agencies tend to offer extended liability insurance for a fee of about $10-12 per day.
For anyone reading this who’s interested, the Insurance Information Institute offers a basic rundown on how to decide on insurance when renting a car. See http://www.iii.org/individuals/auto/a/rentalcar/.
I just checked with my credit card to see if they would cover me (the deductable etc) while using a zipcars and according to my credit card fine print they say they will ONLY cover me if I “waive” in writing all insurance. Thing is that Zipcar will not let you do this. They say they pay for the insurance so there is nothing to waive but my Credit Card company says differently.
This alone has discouraged mw from joining as I am not willing to accept the obvious risks involved with driving with minimum insurance.
Reggie
Martin,
I don’t think your credit card would have covered much (probably none) of the third party damage. At least, this is what my CC company(USAA MasterCard) told me. So, even if you use your CC insurance for Enterprise or whatever, you’re still practically uninsured (for 3rd party damage).
Felix,
Thanks for the scoop on insurance. I can’t believe I’ve been driving Zipcars all this time exposed to such huge liabilities. I just purchased a non-owners auto policy.
Mark
Thank you for posting your story Martin. I think this shows us how evil zipcar really is.
Felix, you work for an evil organization. It’s completely selfish and indefensible marketing yourselves as an alternative to car ownership while not offering your customers adequate liability protection, or even warning your customers about your complete lack of liability insurance above useless state minimums. Your inactions have cost Martin $7000. How many other people like Martin have you screwed over Felix?
Why don’t you warn your customers about this? Do you care more about your shareholders then your customers?
How do you sleep at night? Don’t you think about the people who trusted that you would protect them from liabilities while they drove your cars?
Martin i genuinely feel for what you’ve gone through. I think we, as zipcar members, should star a website warning zipcar members that they’re completely on their own for liability coverage above state minimums. Everyone knows state minimum insurance won’t even cover most fender benders.
I think we should start a website zipcarsucks.com and make a it a clearhouse for horror stories similar to yours, with the goal of getting them to add adequate liability insurance for their customers.
Citycarshare, a competing nonprofit car organzation, offers $1million in liability insurance for their drivers. They claim it doesn’t cost much more for them, and it’s worth it since they’re trying to market themselves as a car-free alternative.
Who did you talk to at Zipcar? Do you have any names and positions?
Thanks again for posting your horrible experience. I truly hope we can use this to make sure this never happens to anybody else.
-Ziggy
I dont think Felix works for Zipcar like the previous poster claims….does he?
I think it is obvious now that Zipcar is evil.
Correct. I don’t work for Zipcar, and never have done.
Yikes! I’m so sorry Felix. I completely misread the article written by Kristina from Zipcar, thinking it was written by you. Obviously I was wrong and i’m sorry.
It’s Kristina that works for an evil organization. I don’t understand why Zipcar thinks its okay to advertise that you don’t need to worry about “gas, parking, or insurance” with their service. Isn’t this fraud?
-Ziggy Tomcich
Zipcar gets away with fraud because there is no one willing to stand up to them. Blog posts like this is a good start
I have been unable to find any non-owner automobile insurance in Massachusetts to help solve this issue with ZipCar. It seems that companies here generally do not write these types of policies because the law does not require them to do it. The auto insurance industry in Mass. is very regulated and different from most states. Does anyone know of any companies that might offer a non-owner policy in Mass. or does anyone have any suggestions of what to do about the insurance issue in the Boston area?
Zipcar has fraudulent and confusing advertising concerning switching between different plans. If you were to switch to a different plan, you will automatically be charged annual fee of say 50$ even if your year is not up yet.
Wow, I’m so glad I found this blog. I was just about to sign up with zipcar and now have decided not to. I’m not down with companies which try to trick you into a sense of security. Thanks everyone (except for Zipcar!).
-JM
There is “named non-owner” liability insurance available in Massachusetts, but most agents don’t know about it. In case of questions, refer your agent to Rule 49 of the AIB Private Passenger Automobile Insurance Manual. Make sure they know you are insuring temporary rentals, and not a car that’s supplied to you (like a government or company car). Unlike other car insurance in Mass., it’s optional and many companies do not offer it. Plymouth Rock Assurance Co. is one company that does.
My policy costs about $400 a year for 100/300 liability insurance. That’s about half what I’d pay in my area if I owned a car. Since Hertz charges $12.50 a day for liability coverage, I figure I’m breaking even after 32 days (or 16 weekends). I wouldn’t use Zipcar at all without this coverage.
Wow. I, too, was about to join Zipcar in NYC. I figured I’d do a little reseach to see what their customers thought.
I think I’ll just keep renting from traditional auto rentals. Friday I used HotWire and got a Volvo S40 from National for 31 bucks a day and unlimited miles. Even paying for the additional coverage I still came out ahead.
Thanks to you all for maintaining this blog. And Martin, I’m so sorry for the bs they put you through.
Keep it up y’all, companies can’t continue to mislead consumers and survive.
Thanks!
Ziggy, do you mind if I ask where you got your non-owners policy? I’m in California too. Haven’t been able to get a quote below 60/month (ow).
What Mark at 12:17 EST said is true in California too — a non-owners policy to cover rental cars costs much more than if you get it to drive an individual’s car. Apparently the insurance co’s are more comfortable knowing exactly what car you are driving.
Actually in Massachusetts you get a better deal (by about 20%) if you tell them you are NOT driving a government/company type car, i.e. a car you don’t own but that is made available to you regularly. Non-owner liability insurance for rental cars is cheaper.
It makes sense – you will drive a lot fewer miles if you don’t have a company car parked in your driveway.
Wow, I’m glad I found this posting. It was the first hit under “zipcar accident”.
I was involved with a hit-and-run accident in my Zipcar this afternoon and have yet to find out if it’s gonna cost me the full deductible. This was only my second reservation with my membership. Can’t wait to do the math to figure out how many cab rides I could have taken for the $50 membership fee, hourly charges, and $500 deductible…
The reality of fine print is that we, as signer-uppers, just don’t read it in full. This new service comes along that’s “green” and “affordable” and hires a “hip” copy writer to craft their marketing message. We’re skeptical–so we look for the catch. But after scouring every page of the website we convince ourselves that this innovative, breakthrough company really HAS found a way around those bastard car rental agencies! Go Zipcar!! And ooo look! The website uses Google Maps! This company is the coolest ever! …..
I was considering cancelling my membership pending the outcome of this incident, but after reading this post I’m done with Zipcar for good. Far too much risk for far too little gain.
Hi,
I have a few Zipcar stories as a member who uses the vehicles quite often that I thought might be helpful. I am based out of Boston.
I have had 2 incidents while a Zipcar member:
1. An extremely minor fender bender in which I hit the back of someone’s car, after I went to put my visor down because of the sun and the gas card/parking garage card fell in my lap, distracting me.
The only damage was a broken tail light on the other vehicle. Zip car did an investigation, and I did not have to pay any money because the only damage was to the other car.
The only negative was that my account was supended for about a week pending an investigation.
2. While driving no the highway a bird flew into the side view mirror of our Zipcar and smashed the glass
Again, after an investigation I did not have to pay any money. And again, the only problem was the suspension of my account for roughly a week.
In all, my two incident experiences with Zipcar have been fine. I was frustrated with the length of the investigation, especially with the second accident, because it was such a freak thing, but overall to not have to pay anything was great.
That being said, additional insurance coverage has always been something that was on mind, and after reading this blog, I have placed a call to my insurance agent and will hopefully have a non-owner policy in place ASAP! I do feel that Zipcar should be more forthcoming about the policy and suggest that those who want more coverage should seek non-owner insurance.
Overall, Zipcar has been a great service, and for someone like me who doesn’t want the headache of vehicle maintenance and parking, its perfect!
Add me to the list of folks who aren’t doing business with ZipCar after reading this blog post.
I was ready to open up an account tonight to use as early as this weekend, after toying with the idea of joining ZipCar for almost a year, but am glad I didn’t pull the trigger.
I guess I’ll rely on rentals until ZipCar corrects this major mistake in policy!
Oh man, thanks for the article. This is so disappointing. I was all excited to start using Zipcar. I wish there was an alternative for New York like Citycarshare in the Bay Area.
As far as credit car insurance coverage goes, Zipcar is really being misleading about that, since most credit cards say you have to waive the collision/damage coverage of the rental car company. Zipcar must know that, so it seems intentionally misleading.
Also, usually credit cards only cover up to about $50,000 damage on the car you’re renting. Which is the part of the coverage that Zipcar does well anyway. So the credit card doesn’t help at all with damage to another car or injuries to people outside the Zipcar itself. So it seems like Zipcar is being deliberately misleading about that as well.
gg555,
FYI Hertz has been marketing their hourly-rental business in New York this year, and there’s a news story dated today, http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=MW&date=20070927&id=7544114, which indicates they’re expanding their progam. It seems to be straight-up rental, not car sharing, but may be worth investigating. Their site doesn’t mention anything about how supplemental liability insurance works with hourly rentals, but they do offer the extended liability with their daily rentals.
I ended up getting a Named Non-Owned policy mainly for my Zipcar use. For my wife and I, we are paying roughly $700 in premiums for 250/500k (including uninsured and under-insured) with 250k in property damage.
Pretty good deal and I feel a lot more secure driving around with Zipcar.
Its an added bonus that this coverage goes with us where ever we drive, if we rent a car, we are covered, if we use Zipcar we are covered, if we are driving someone else’s car it would act as excess coverage.
I just got into an accident with my Zipcar and I’m freaking out. I was going to pull into a parking space, some guy flew around me on the left, I swerved and hit a Jag. What freaking luck.
The damage to the Zipcar was scratches, and to the Jag there were some scratches on the front bumper and a cracked headlight. The guy said there were scratches on his rim (I couldn’t see it) and that if Zipcar didn’t cover it, he’d come after me for the “$5,000 it would cost to fix it.” I can’t afford that $$, and after reading this, I’m scared as scared can be that I’ll be responsible for it. Why isn’t this service forthcoming with their lack of insurance coverage? I’m so scared right now. Any help or advice would be really appreciated right now.
Shannon, what state do you live in?
Massachusetts – they have the lowest minimums in the country. Oy.
In Massachusetts, you have property damage coverge of $5,000. Also, I believe you won’t have to pay a deductable for the damage to the other car, just for damage to your Zip Car.
So, unless the damage to the Jaguar and your Zip Car exceeds $5,000, you will be okay.
That being said, I would suggest you immediately call your insurance agent and look into getting a named non-owned policy so you get good insurance coverage. I have $250k/$500k in Massachusetts and it is relatively cheap.
Massachusetts – they have the lowest minimums in the country. Oy.
Massachusetts – they have the lowest minimums in the country. Oy.
Thanks, Eric. I called my insurance company and they hadn’t heard of any such thing. Do you have any recommendations for companies that offer this service?
No problem. I used Nancy Bender Insurance in Boston. Karen Whelchel worked on my Zipcar policy so if you ask for her she could probably put something together quickly since she has done it before.
I believe Plymouth Rock insurance does a named non-owned policy as well.
Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful. I’m hoping all with this incident doesn’t become a financialy back-breaking experience. I hate “car people” (i.e. folks who own cars that are overpriced status symbols…).
I’m just upset that Zipcar isn’t helping you out here, Shannon. One would think that they, not blog commenters, would be best placed to be able to tell you exactly where you stand and what you should be doing in this situation. When you phone them, what do they say?
Actually, they’ve been helpful. When I posted last night, I had just filed the report and was freaking out a bit (I can get emotional :-). They’ve been responsive, are dealing with Mr Jag and his insurance company, and told me to call them whenever needed. They also said their insurance carrier is fair and honest and won’t inflate the price on the damage (I also use their insurance carrier for some of my own insurance needs, and they’ve always been reasonable and ethical). I spoke with someon in insurance (for Zipcar) and the person who deals with external insurance and all have been great.
I am less than thrilled about the $500 deductible and potential for covering expenses beyond $5K, which I didn’t realize was the case (MA has such terrible insurance laws and Zipcar isn’t necessarily forthcoming with the driver’s responsibility). If this were a normal car, I wouldn’t be so worried, but I scratched a freakin’ Jag.
I would be curious to know what the increase in member fees would be if Zipcar did subscribe to the “recommended minimum” of coverage like other car sharing services in the World. I’d be willing to pay a bit extra to cover that. It only seems fair and reasonable. Also, I’ve been a member for three years, so I honestly had no idea about the insurance (I’ve been a good driver :-). I do wonder if enough members pooled together and fought for this, if it is something that could be achieved.
Shannon,
Did anyone call the police to the scene of the incident? Maybe it’s easy for me to say now, because I wasn’t there, but if the other guy were resistant to this, I’d be tempted to tell him I won’t pay a dime if the police don’t come and issue an accident report.
Hi Mark,
I actually filed a police report on my own the following morning via fax. The cops didn’t show up (I didn’t even think to call them…bad me) and I haven’t heard from them since I filed it.
Tedious….
FYI:
Thanks for that link, Anon. Zipcar is finally upgrading their insurance. It’s about freaking time! I’ve been following this blog entry for a year now, and I’d like to think that all our comments had something to do with their change in policy. Pat yourselves on the back, you consumer advocates you.
Maybe it would good for Zipcar too? The higher liability limits should help them attract more members.
Thanks for this info. I literally was just about to sign up for Zipcar, literally. Not only do I consider lack of insurance a humongous issue, I think Zipcar’s legalese is reprehensible. They should CLEARLY state that drivers MUST get insurance from an independent 3rd party BEFORE they drive. Simple. They did not. I will NOT be joining Zipcar. Thanks so much for this enlightening info!
FYI, I believe Zipcar now has a 100k/300k ins. policy. Which is not great, but it is reasonable, for being included in the normal hourly rates.
A note about named non-owner car insurance through Plymouth Rock Assurance Co: I just called and the only way to qualify for it is to have another policy through them, ie, a home owners policy. Their renters insurance is done through a sister company and doesn’t qualify customers for then named non-owner insurance. ***Sigh*** I miss Virginia where insurance was easy.