Turo and your personal insurance in Canada: what owners need to know
How Turo's host protection plans work in Canada, what your own auto policy still has to cover, and the questions to ask your insurer before you list a car.
November 6, 2026 · 4 min read · by the Drifty team
Insurance is the question owners are most nervous about, and the one with the most misinformation around it. This guide explains how the pieces fit in Canada. It is written from a host's experience, not by an insurance professional, and Turo's terms change; the links below go to Turo's own Canadian pages, which are the final word.
Two layers of coverage
When your car is on a Turo trip in Canada, two things are in play:
- Turo's host protection plan. During a booked trip, the plan you choose as a host covers physical damage to your car up to the plan's limit, with the plan's deductible, and provides third-party liability coverage. Turo states this is up to $2,000,000 in third-party liability on its Canadian plans, through its insurance partners. For damage that happens during a trip, Turo says the protection plan acts as primary coverage.
- Your own auto policy. You still need it. Turo is explicit about this. It covers the car when it isn't on a trip, and your insurer has to know and allow that the car is shared.
The protection plan is not insurance you buy; it is a contractual promise from Turo tied to the share of the trip price you keep. Lower share, more protection.
The host protection plans in Canada
Turo revised its Canadian host plans in 2026. At the time of writing, the three plans are:
| Plan | Host keeps | Deductible | Replacement vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|
| More earnings | 85% of trip price | $2,000 | No |
| Balanced | 75% | $250 | No |
| More peace of mind | 65% | $0 | Yes |
Source: Turo Canada, host protection plan update and Turo's vehicle protection page. Check them before relying on any figure here; Turo's own pages don't all agree on every detail, and the plans have changed more than once.
The choice is a business decision. On a car bringing in $1,000 a month in trip revenue, the ten-point difference between the 85% and 75% plans is about $100 a month, against a $1,750 difference in what you pay on the first claim. On a fleet, the arithmetic is different again. We'll tell you which plan we'd run your car on and why.
What your own insurer needs to know
Before listing, call your insurer and ask three things:
- Does my policy allow peer-to-peer car sharing? Many major Canadian insurers do, some with conditions, some not at all. Turo names several that permit it, and the list differs by province. Don't assume.
- Does sharing change my premium or my coverage? Some insurers add an endorsement. Some are fine as long as the car is covered by the platform during trips.
- What happens if a guest has an accident? Confirm your insurer will not treat a trip-period claim as a claim on your policy. Turo's position is that its plan is primary during trips; you want your insurer to say the same.
Get the answer in writing, or at least note the date and who you spoke to. The owners who get burned are the ones whose insurer finds out about the sharing after a loss.
Province by province
Turo's Canadian plans cover the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, BC and Newfoundland, with BC handled through ICBC rather than Turo's usual insurer. For Nova Scotia and Ontario, where our fleets are, the standard plans apply. The specific insurer behind the plan can differ by province, which matters only if you ever need to deal with them directly on a liability claim.
What the plan does not cover
Read the exclusions on Turo's page, but in practice these are the gaps owners hit:
- Mechanical failure. A transmission that dies during a trip is not damage. It's a repair, and it's yours.
- Wear and tear. Tires, brakes, stone chips, interior wear. Turo won't pay for it and guests won't be charged for it.
- Loss of income while the car is being repaired.
- Damage you can't prove happened on a trip. See the claim process. No before photo, no claim.
- Anything outside the trip period. Your own policy's job.
- Vehicles above Turo's value threshold without the required tracker, and vehicles that don't meet eligibility rules at all.
What Drifty does on the insurance side
- We run your car under the protection plan we agree with you, and we show which plan on your statement.
- We photograph every trip so that the plan actually pays when it should.
- If one of our own drivers damages your car through negligence, we pay for the repair. That is Drifty's commitment, separate from Turo's plan.
- We don't give insurance advice. We'll tell you what we see work, and we'll ask you to confirm with your own insurer before the car is listed. It's a condition of our agreement, for your protection and ours.
If you want to walk through how this applies to your car and your policy, book a call. Bring your insurer's answer if you already have it.