Insurance & liability, in plain words
Information for coordinators — not legal or insurance advice. Confirm with your broker and lawyer.
“Who is responsible if there's an accident?” is the right question — and it has a well-worn answer. Churches have driven their people to worship for generations; volunteer driver programs like Meals on Wheels and Alberta's own seniors-ride nonprofits run on the exact three-layer structure below. C-Cab doesn't create this risk — it organizes a ministry churches already run, and adds the paper trail most have never had.
The driver's own auto insurance
Primary coverage
In Canada, auto insurance follows the car. A volunteer driving their own vehicle is covered by their personal policy — for the passenger, and for anyone else involved. Because C-Cab rides are completely free and volunteers are unpaid, this is not “driving for compensation” (the thing that voids personal policies for Uber drivers). Drivers should still tell their insurer they volunteer-drive — most insurers are fine with it at no extra cost — and your church should set a minimum liability limit ($2,000,000 is the volunteer-sector standard).
The church's insurance
The organization's shield
Your church's commercial general liability policy plus a non-owned automobile endorsement (SPF No. 6 in Canada) protects the church itself if it's ever named in a claim because a volunteer had an accident on church business. This endorsement is a standard, inexpensive add-on that church insurers offer precisely because churches have run van ministries and carpools for decades. One call to your broker confirms both.
C-Cab
The coordination tool
C-Cab is scheduling software. It doesn't employ, select, or pay drivers, doesn't carry passengers, and doesn't touch a fare — your church approves its own drivers and runs its own ministry. The fund-paid rideshare fallback rides on the rideshare company's commercial insurance.
Your church's checklist
- 1Call your insurance broker: confirm your general liability policy covers a volunteer driver ministry.
- 2Add (or confirm) the non-owned automobile endorsement — SPF No. 6 or your insurer's equivalent.
- 3Set your driver minimums: $2,000,000 third-party liability, valid class of licence, insurer told about volunteer driving.
- 4Verify every driver before their first ride — licence and insurance card in person, plus any screening your church's policies require. C-Cab stores the records.
- 5Re-verify once a year, and whenever a driver's licence or insurance changes.
- 6Keep rides free and drivers unpaid. Reimburse expenses (if you choose to) at or below CRA rates, outside the app.
- 7Agree on an incident protocol: people first, report to the coordinator within 24 hours, notify your broker, preserve records.
- 8Name a backup contact in C-Cab (People tab) so escalations never depend on one person.
What would break this structure
Charging riders, paying drivers per ride, or letting anyone drive unvetted. Free rides, unpaid volunteers, and church approval before the first ride are what keep every layer above intact — C-Cab is built to enforce all three.