Update 5/23/24 – ABI came through at the last minute to provide insurance for my fleet. It took longer than I thought it would but I’m happy the gap in coverage only lasted for a few days. The big down side is that my insurance costs have nearly doubled! If you’re a Turo host in New York then your options for insuring your cars are extremely limited. For the record, all these companies said no or didn’t respond: GMI, Lancer, Mobilitas, Assured Partners, Tint, Insureon, Tivly, and Roamly. Yes I contacted them ALL.
Update 5/21/24 – I wanted to provide a quick update on Tint.ai. I saw this company mentioned by other Turo hosts as a possible alternative to Lula. They DO NOT provide policies in New York. I’m still waiting on ABI.
A few weeks ago I wrote about receiving a notification from Lula that their insurance program for Turo hosts might be coming to an end in May. Well that time has finally arrived, and they are indeed cancelling policies for Turo hosts. They have a deal pending with New Era Risk Solutions to transfer their commercial auto insurance business. I got emails from both companies about the update:
Dear Lula Customer,
We are excited to announce that New Era Risk Solutions intends to acquire Lula’s commercial auto business.
The New Era management team consists of experienced insurance and technology experts who are committed to delivering innovative solutions and outstanding customer service. We will soon share additional details about our company and the benefits we offer.
Our goal is to enhance the Lula program by making additional investments and taking it to the next level. If everything goes as planned, you will be able to apply for insurance coverage through New Era in early June 2024.
In the coming weeks, we will provide you with further information about our program and your eligibility to participate.
This potential acquisition signifies the start of a new, exciting chapter in your commercial auto coverage, and we look forward to embarking on this journey with you.
Email from New Era Risk Solutions
Re: LULA – Important Notice for Program Update
Dear Valued Customer,
Email from Lula
We are reaching out with a status update for your insurance benefit and subscription with LULA. This is a reminder notice, following our initial April 19, 2024 notice, that your insurance coverage benefit under LULA’s policy will be cancelled and no longer in effect as of 11:59pm ET on May 19, 2024.
Your access to LULA’s technology Platform will continue until June 19, 2024, even though your insurance coverage terminates as of May 19, 2024. This access will be provided at no fee to you under amendments to our master services agreement with you, which will terminate on June 19, 2024. Amendments to our agreement are available for your review here.
LULA has signed a term sheet with New Era Risk Solutions LLC to transfer its commercial auto business by May 17, 2024. Please note, the transfer is still subject to the formal completion of New Era’s purchase of this business from LULA. The completion of this transfer will offer you the opportunity to get insurance coverage through New Era in early June 2024. Please note your eligibility for reinstatement of coverage during the gap period between May 20, 2024, and the early June replacement date, will be at the sole discretion of New Era, only if the LULA business is transferred. We will send an updated communication to you by May 17, 2024, advising you of whether such transfer is successful. Please look for future communications from New Era describing their company and potential for future replacement coverage.
You may determine to seek replacement coverage now that would be effective as of May 20, 2024, to avoid any gap in coverage. PLEASE NOTE: you will not be covered under LULA’s policy for any claims you incur after your policy’s cancellation on May 19, 2024, and LULA will not refund subscription fees for coverage replaced prior to May 19, 2024.
The part about a gap in coverage made me nervous, so I decided to check back in with my old insurance company ABI to see what they’re currently offering. I went through the process to get a quote, and was shocked to see that prices in New York have increased by nearly 80% since 2022!! I used to pay about $100/month per car. It’s now close to $180. For comparison, I pay $95 per car with Lula right now. Add in the required costs of tracking devices ($450 for 5 Bouncie trackers, plus $7.70/month service charge per device), and my insurance costs will more than double if I switch back to ABI.
I was pretty set on switching back, but at those rates I’ll wait to see what New Era Risk Solutions has to offer. Hopefully it won’t break the bank. This is exactly what I feared would happen when there was no competition for insurance for Turo hosts in New York. I will provide another update on this situation once NERS announces details about their program and pricing.
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