Esurance Car Insurance Review: Good Mobile App, Okay Rates

What does Esurance cover?

While you can purchase liability-only coverage from Esurance, all the standard additional coverages — such as comprehensive, collision, uninsured and underinsured motorist — are all available. The standout add-on coverage is its rideshare insurance, known as ShareSmart. ShareSmart helps ensure you’re fully covered at all points during the ridesharing process, where neither your own car insurance nor the coverage offered by Uber and Lyft suffices.

Personal auto insurance policies don’t usually cover you during the time when your rideshare app is on and you’re looking for passengers or driving to meet one; ridesharing insurance usually doesn’t cover you until a passenger is in your car. Esurance’s ShareSmart covers you from the beginning of the process to the end.

Drivers must have collision and comprehensive insurance in place to be eligible for ShareSmart. Be aware that ShareSmart is only available in a few select states: California, Illinois and New Jersey.

Other useful add-on coverages from Esurance include:

Emergency roadside assistance

Esurance pays up to $75 per incident for common roadside mishaps, such as towing, tire changes and fuel delivery.

Loan/lease gap

Esurance offers a payout of 25% more than the actual cash value of your car in the event that it is a total loss and you still owe payments to your lienholder.

Rental car

Esurance will cover the cost of a rental car for policyholders who have full coverage while their own car receives repairs. In some states, Esurance policyholders can get a rental car of a similar size and body type to their own car through its CarMatch rental coverage.

Esurance does not have specific glass coverage; instead, glass coverage is rolled into comprehensive coverage. Comprehensive coverage from Esurance pays for off-road incidents, such as a stolen car or damage done by animals or falling objects.