Rideshare Accidents

When an accident occurs that is the fault of a rideshare driver was at fault, any injured parties can file a claim with the rideshare company’s insurance—but only if that rideshare driver was actively working at the time of the crash. This means they must have had the Lyft or Uber app open and been searching for a passenger to pick up or already transporting a passenger.

Uber and Lyft possess very similar liability policies that kick in under the following circumstances:

• Period 0: This refers to any time period in which a rideshare driver is in their vehicle, but not using their rideshare app. In other words, if a Lyft or Uber driver injured you while they were “off the clock” the rideshare companies provide no coverage. Your only option is to file a claim with the driver’s personal auto insurer.
• Period 1: This period occurs when a rideshare driver is working but has not yet taken a ride request from a passenger. If a rideshare driver injures someone during this period, you can be covered by both the rideshare driver’s insurance and Uber/Lyft’s policy. However, the latter only offers liability coverage for other vehicles or passengers.
• Period 2: Period 2 occurs when a rideshare driver does have a ride request but has not yet picked up the passenger. At this point, the driver ceases to provide coverage—instead, all insurance coverage is handled by Lyft or Uber.
• Period 3: When a passenger is riding with a working rideshare driver. Both Lyft and Uber’s insurance policies cover this period, up to $1 million in total damages.