Who Pays When an Uber or Lyft Driver Causes a Crash in California?

An Uber or Lyft crash looks, at the scene, like any other collision. The insurance is not the same. California writes different minimums depending on what the driver was doing in the app at the moment of impact. Passengers, other drivers, and people on foot or on a bicycle can all have claims. The app logo on the window does not, by itself, tell you who writes the check.

This is general information about California rideshare coverage, not a reading of the policy that applies to your trip.

Three periods, three different answers

California’s transportation network company statute, Public Utilities Code section 5433, splits the driver’s day into periods:

• App off. The driver is not logged into Uber or Lyft. The company’s rideshare coverage is not required to apply. The driver’s personal auto policy is the one that has to respond, subject to whatever that policy actually says.
• Logged on, waiting for a request. The driver is available but has not accepted a trip. California requires primary liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $30,000 for property damage. The driver, the company, or a combination of the two can satisfy that minimum. Personal policies often exclude driving for a rideshare company, which is why the company’s contingent policy is the layer people end up using.
• Trip accepted through drop-off. From the moment the driver accepts a request until the passenger exits the vehicle, California requires at least $1 million in primary liability coverage for death, personal injury, and property damage. During that same period the statute also requires $1 million in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Those figures are minimums the law requires someone to carry. They are not the value of your claim, and they are not an offer. A minor injury does not become a $1 million case because the policy is large. A catastrophic injury is not capped at $1 million if other responsible parties and other policies also apply. Our Uber and Lyft accident page is where we describe how those claims are investigated.

The trip record decides the period

Coverage follows the driver’s status at impact, which is why the receipt matters more than anyone’s memory of “whether the app was open.” The record shows when the request was accepted, when the driver arrived, when the trip started, and when it ended. A crash on the way to pick up a passenger is not the same period as a crash while the driver is sitting in a Santa Ana lot waiting for the map to ping.

Screenshot the receipt and any message that shows the time. Ask the officer to note that a rideshare company was involved and, if you know it, whether a passenger was in the car. Do not rely on the driver to report the crash inside the app in a way that favors you. Companies and their insurers reconstruct the period from their own data. You should have a copy that does not depend on them.

If you are the passenger, you can request the trip information from your account. If you are the other driver or a person the rideshare car hit, the police report and a preservation request for the trip data are how that status gets proved.

Passengers, other drivers, and people outside the car

Who you are changes which part of the coverage you use. It does not change the need to prove fault and injuries.

A passenger hurt by their own Uber or Lyft driver during an active trip usually looks to the $1 million liability layer. A passenger hurt because another motorist hit the rideshare car looks to that motorist’s liability insurance and, if those limits are too low or the driver fled, to the uninsured and underinsured coverage required on an active trip.

The driver of another car, a pedestrian, or a cyclist hit by a rideshare driver claims against the coverage for whatever period the app was in. A driver who had already logged off to run a personal errand is a different claim from a driver who was en route to a pickup in Irvine.

The other at-fault driver’s own policy remains a source no matter what the app was doing. Rideshare coverage does not erase a negligent third party. It adds a layer that has to be identified before anyone talks you into releasing only one insurer.

What the company is, and is not, in the claim

People ask whether they “sue Uber” or “sue the driver.” In many of these files the paying source is the insurance California requires for that period, issued either in the driver’s name, the company’s name, or both. Treating the app company as the driver’s employer in every crash is a theory that depends on the facts and on current California law about driver classification. It is not the first question. The first question is which policy is primary for the minute the crash happened.

You also should not assume the driver’s personal insurer will step in happily. Personal auto policies commonly exclude livery — carrying people for a fee. A denial from the personal carrier is a reason to tender the claim to the rideshare layer, not a reason to conclude that nobody has coverage.

What to do before you talk to either insurer

Get medical care the same day, even if you walked away from a rideshare sedan. Photograph both vehicles, the license plate, the company trade dress if it is visible, and the scene. Exchange information with the rideshare driver and with any other driver. Save the trip receipt.

Report the crash to your own insurer if you have a policy that requires notice. You do not owe the rideshare insurer, or the other driver’s insurer, a recorded statement or a broad medical release on the first call. Early offers in these claims are often priced before anyone has the correct period, the correct policy, or a stable diagnosis.

The same comparative-fault rules that apply to other California crashes apply here. A passenger is rarely the person who caused a collision. Another driver, or the rideshare driver, still may share fault. Do not let an adjuster collapse that question into “the app’s insurance already looked at it.”

Nordean Law identifies the period, tenders every policy that may apply, and prepares the injury claim for the value of the harm rather than the first layer an insurer hopes you will accept.

Hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash and unsure which policy applies? Contact Nordean Law or call 888.254.3222. The consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Coverage depends on the driver’s app status, the policy language, and the facts of the crash.