"Peer To Peer" and the Virginia Personal Auto Policy
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During the 2020 session of the Virginia General Assembly Senator Stephen D. Newman introduced SB735 for the purpose of regulating the “Peer To Peer” automobile rental industry in Virginia. For those of you who are not aware of the “Peer To Peer” auto rental industry, it is the personal auto equivalent of AirBnb short term home rentals. The bill was originally introduced in the 2019 Virginia General Assembly session but was sent to DMV for study and recommendation. The study process took many months, involved a diverse group of “interested parties” (IIAV was part of the study group), and resulted in SB735. The bill was passed and became law July 1, 2020. The following is a brief description of how it relates to and deals with the Virginia personal auto policy:
It defines the terms that deal with the short term auto rental industry such as, "Peer-to-peer vehicle sharing" , "Peer-to-peer vehicle sharing platform" ,"Shared vehicle", "Shared vehicle driver", "Shared vehicle owner" ,"Vehicle sharing delivery period" , "Vehicle sharing period" , "Vehicle sharing platform agreement" , "Vehicle sharing start time" , and "Vehicle sharing termination time". All of these will bring much clarity to who is responsible in the case of an accident.
It specifies that the “Peer to peer vehicle sharing platform” (i.e. Truro, Getaround, etc.) has the primary liability and uninsured motorist responsibility for the “Shared vehicle”. The required liability limit is the current Va. state minimum limits requirement; in addition, the “Peer-to-peer vehicle sharing platform” must either provide or offer physical damage coverage.
As the unendorsed personal auto policy in Virginia (Standard Form PP 00 01 01 05) does not exclude the “Peer To Peer” exposure, SB735 allows insurance companies to, at their option, exclude it. They may do this by attaching the newly approved endorsement “Vehicle Sharing Exclusion Endorsement Virginia, PP 43 20 11 20” to the policy. Insurance companies may, also at their option, file rates and a form and offer “buy back” coverage for the “Peer To Peer” exposure. Follow this link to view the new endorsement https://scc.virginia.gov/pages/Personal-Commercial-Auto-Forms.
Hopefully your personal auto companies have notified you of their intent for PP 00 01 01 05. Regardless, you need to be on the lookout for this endorsement being attached to your customer’s personal auto policies.
