With the price of gas on the rise again, a lot of people are on the look out for better ways of commuting more than ever, more people are beginning to car pool or use public transit. Many urbanites rely only on public transit and taxis to get around throughout the city; when they go on longer trips they rent automobiles. There are now at least 20 US cities where car-sharing clubs have been started. If you are a club member you can rent a club owned vehicle by the hour. This gives people who seldomly need a automobile access to a vehicle without having to buy, maintain or store one while living in the city.

This is fine until something goes wrong. What are the consequences if someone has an accident while using one of these cars? Who will be the responsible party to pay for injuries or damage?

You will most likely think that the club has insurance to incur any charges for any accidents that occur, and it is possible. Although, you might not want to rely on the club's insurance:

* You have no control if the club is late with a payment and unknowingly has no coverage.
* Your particular vehicle may not be covered under the policy if it wasn't on the original declaration. There is no guarantee that the club's policy will automatically cover a newly acquired car.
* A policy condition might have been overlooked by the club, giving the insurance company amble reason to deny the claim.
* The policy itself might exclude coverage to you for this particular type of loss.
* The policy may have low limits possibly too low to fully protect you from the loss.

As a car club member you most likely have no control over the amount and/or terms of the club's insurance policy, nor will you have any say if claim arises. These same issues come up if you rent a automobile or borrow a friend's. As odd as it may sound, you should consider buying your own discount car insurance policy.

There are special Non-owners policies you can purchase from most well known insurance companies. This type of policy provides car coverage to specifically named individuals in the policy when they use an auto they don't personally own.

If you own an automobile and have a policy this coverage is already added in for you, but if you don't own an auto you must purchase this special coverage. The policy will include the following coverages for named individuals:

* Liability Coverage (injuries or property damage)
* Coverage for Medical Payments
* Coverage for Uninsured or Underinsured Motorists

Each state offers their own coverage requirements, so make sure to ask your insurance agent when getting free insurance quotes about this coverage where you live. If you happen to purchase a vehicle, the policy will provide these coverages automatically for up to 2 weeks.

You need to understand that the insurance this policy offer only goes into effect after the vehicle owner's coverage is exhausted. Also remember only specifically named persons are covered not all family members unless they are specifically named on the policy. This policy doesn't include any type of coverage for damage to the automobile you are driving. When you speak with your insurance agent they can explain all the options available. Since the policy only offers limited coverage the cost may be considerably inexpensive.

Driving a vehicle always puts you at risk, whether the driver borrows, rents or owns the Vehicle. Make sure you have the coverage in place in case of a large financial liability loss.

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