Most of us use a car sharing service at one time or another, whether it’s on the daily or just a one time ride to the airport. Online services such as Lyft, Uber and Car Share are all part of the sharing economy, which is increasingly popular these days. It’s easy to book with an app on your Smartphone, it cuts down your time and most importantly saves money. A majority of these services were born during the financial crisis between 2008 and 2010. Entrepreneurs had the opportunity to cut the middle man, as it benefits both parties. The people offering the services and the people using the services are both happy.

This sounds great, right? Everyone wins. But with these companies booming and multiplying, issues surrounding taxation, insurance and legal liability cannot be ignored. There has already been paramount cases such as the Relay Rides accident in April 2012, where a man in Boston lost his life during a collision and four passengers in the car were severely injured while using the car sharing service.

States like California, Oregon and Washington are already taking action and have actually passed bills about car sharing. Courtesy of Gigoam, “AB 1871, states that the car sharing program is the owner of the vehicle for all purposes and assumes liability during rental.”

Airbnb had a similar incident when they were starting up which resulted in them creating a 24-7 customer service hotline for any customer complaints. Of course this does not replace renters or homeowners insurance, but it does seem like these companies are quick to find at least temporary solutions to keep their businesses running. All of these companies rely on ratings and customer reviews, so it's important the consumers are happy.

In short, the share economy is definitely more vulnerable to legal liability, they reap all the rewards but are responsible for all the consequences as well.