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Insurance for Restaurant Delivery Drivers During COVID-19

​​​Last Updated: March 26, 2020

Printable version of publication: Insurance for Restaurant Delivery Drivers During COVID-19 (Guidance for Agents)


​The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) issued a Bulletin​ directing the insurance industry to remove any insurance barriers that may prevent a restaurant from beginning delivery service with its employees.​​
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No, employees do not need to contact their carriers to inform them. For drivers using their personal auto policy, all terms and conditions effectively remain the same; however, the carriers are prohibited from utilizing an exclusion contained in the policy that excludes coverage if the insured/driver engages in commercial activity to deny a claim.
For the hired and non-owned auto coverage, the employer/insured would need to contact their carrier to request this coverage. The coverage will be added at no charge to their current commercial liability policy, but a request for coverage must be made by the employer/insured.
No, a carrier cannot deny a claim for these factors. Generally, these factors would be considered during the underwriting process and would impact the pricing of the policy or whether a policy is issued. They should not have any effect regarding a claim on an in-force policy. Alternatively, if a delivery driver is currently seeking a new policy, the carrier would still have the right to deny to issue the policy; however, if the policy is issued, the carrier would have to provide coverage for commercial activities regardless of these factors under the order. 
That is correct. The business liability coverage is supposed to be covered at no additional cost by the carrier. It is not specifically referenced in that portion of the order, but that was OCI’s intent and is our current position.
The Commissioner’s March 23 Order applies to umbrella coverage on a personal automobile policy. While the umbrella policy provides excess coverage, the coverage directly applies to liability claims paid out on the personal automobile policy and is therefore subject to the order.
It applies to all insurers offering the types of insurance specified in the order, including surplus lines insurers. There is no distinction between the kind of insurer offering the coverage, rather if the coverage is being provided, the order applies.