A Wisconsin appeals court has ruled that a personal auto insurer must cover a DoorDash driver’s accident, finding the policy’s gig work exclusion ambiguous.
The March 10 decision could give insurers across the country reason to revisit the way they word delivery-related exclusions in personal auto policies – particularly as the gig economy continues to grow.
The case stems from a December 2020 car accident in Milwaukee. Xavier D. Caruthers, a DoorDash delivery driver, collided with a vehicle carrying passenger Lizbeth Hernandez Ramirez. Caruthers had just wrapped up several food deliveries and was driving to downtown Milwaukee to reposition himself in a busier area. He was not actively picking up or dropping off a delivery at the time of the crash, but he did have the DoorDash app open on his phone…