What the claim involves
After a rideshare crash, what the driver’s app showed at that moment decides which insurance pays.
California regulates Uber, Lyft, and similar companies as transportation network companies and requires insurance in stages tied to the driver’s app (Public Utilities Code §§ 5431, 5433). From the moment a driver accepts a ride request until the driver closes out the trip on the app or the ride ends, whichever is later, the rideshare insurance must be primary and provide $1,000,000 for death, personal injury, and property damage (§ 5433(b)). While the driver is logged on and waiting for a request, and again between trips, the required primary coverage is $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and personal injury and $30,000 for property damage, and the company must also carry at least $200,000 in excess coverage (§ 5433(c)). With the app on, the driver’s personal auto policy provides no coverage unless it expressly covers rideshare driving or carries an endorsement for it (§ 5434(b)); with the app off, the claim proceeds against the driver’s personal policy like any other crash. Since January 1, 2026, the company itself must provide uninsured- and underinsured-motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident from the moment a passenger enters the car until the passenger gets out (§ 5433(b)(2), as amended by Senate Bill 371).
Kyle Scott Law represents rideshare passengers, and the other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians struck by a rideshare vehicle, from its Tustin office, across Orange County and on the 5, the 55, the 405, the 91, and the 57. The firm pins down the driver’s app status with the trip records and the log-on and log-off times the company must share with insurers investigating coverage (Public Utilities Code § 5435), identifies every policy in the order it pays, and documents the injuries before any release is signed. When an insurer disputes coverage or the value of the claim, the firm files suit in the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana and prepares the case for trial.
Three periods, three levels of coverage
Logged on and waiting for a request: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $30,000 for property damage in primary coverage, plus at least $200,000 in excess coverage. From acceptance of a request until the trip is complete: $1,000,000 in primary coverage. App off: the driver’s personal policy. The company’s own records settle which period applied (Public Utilities Code §§ 5433, 5434, 5435).
Uninsured-motorist coverage for passengers
A passenger can be hurt by someone other than the rideshare driver, such as a driver who runs a red light on Irvine Boulevard or rear-ends the car on the 405. If that driver has no insurance or too little, the rideshare company must provide uninsured- and underinsured-motorist coverage while the passenger is in the car, primary over any other such coverage: $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident for crashes since January 1, 2026, where the required amount had been $1,000,000 (§ 5433(b)(2), Senate Bill 371). The passenger’s own policy, or a household member’s, may add coverage, in an order that depends on the policies and on Insurance Code § 11580.2.
Other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians
Someone struck by a rideshare vehicle claims against the coverage that matches the driver’s app status at that moment: the personal policy if the app was off, the waiting-period limits and the excess coverage if the driver was logged on and waiting, and the $1,000,000 coverage if the driver had accepted a request or had a passenger aboard. If the rideshare driver cannot be identified, the injured person’s own uninsured-motorist coverage may apply under the hit-and-run conditions of Insurance Code § 11580.2(b).
The records that prove the period
The trip receipt, the app screenshots, and the company’s log-on and log-off times usually decide the coverage, and California requires the company or its insurer to share those times with insurers investigating coverage (Public Utilities Code § 5435). The firm requests them early, along with the police or CHP report, nearby video, and the rideshare driver’s personal and rideshare policies. Save your own records before they are gone: screenshots of the trip, the driver, the vehicle and plate, and the route, the receipt, and any report made through the app.
Cases the firm reviews
Common rideshare accidents matters.
Information that can matter
A strong claim starts with preserved evidence.
The useful records vary by case. The initial review identifies what exists, what may need to be requested, and what should be preserved before it is lost.
Legal guides
Answers to common rideshare accidents questions.
Common questions
Questions about rideshare accidents claims.
Does rideshare insurance cover me as a passenger?
During a trip, California requires $1,000,000 in primary coverage for the rideshare driver’s liability, and since January 1, 2026, the company must provide uninsured- and underinsured-motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident while you are in the car (Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)). Coverage is not the same as fault: the claim still has to prove who caused the crash and what the injuries cost.
What if the driver was logged on but had no passenger?
If the driver had accepted a request and was on the way to the pickup, the $1,000,000 coverage applies. If the driver was logged on and waiting for a request, the required primary limits are $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $30,000 for property damage, plus at least $200,000 in excess coverage (§ 5433(c)). If the app was off, the driver’s personal policy applies, as in any other crash.
The driver’s personal insurer says it does not cover rideshare driving. Is that right?
Usually, yes, while the app was on. California provides that a personal auto policy gives no coverage from log-on to log-off unless it expressly covers rideshare driving or carries an endorsement for it (Public Utilities Code § 5434(b)). That is why the rideshare coverage exists; the firm identifies which policy owes the claim rather than taking the first denial as the answer.
How do we prove whether the app was on?
Start with your own screenshots and the trip receipt. The decisive records are usually the company’s: California requires a rideshare company or its insurer to cooperate with other insurers investigating coverage and to provide the date and time of the crash and the precise times the driver logged on and off (§ 5435). The firm requests those records at the start.
I was hit by an Uber or Lyft while driving, walking, or riding a bike. Who pays?
The coverage that matches the rideshare driver’s app status at that moment: the driver’s personal policy if the app was off, the waiting-period limits and excess coverage if the driver was logged on and waiting, and $1,000,000 if the driver had accepted a request or had a passenger aboard (§§ 5433, 5434). If the driver left and cannot be identified, your own uninsured-motorist coverage may apply if the crash is reported to the police within 24 hours and a sworn statement goes to your insurer within 30 days (Insurance Code § 11580.2(b)).
Can I use my own auto insurance after a rideshare crash?
Possibly. Your own uninsured- or underinsured-motorist coverage, or medical-payments coverage, may apply depending on the policy, and so may a household member’s. While a passenger is in the car, the rideshare company’s uninsured-motorist coverage is primary over any other (§ 5433(b)(2)), so the order in which the policies pay should be worked out before any release is signed.
What deadlines apply after a rideshare crash?
Most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). A claim involving a public entity, such as a city vehicle or a dangerous road, generally requires a written government claim within six months (Government Code § 911.2), and certain uninsured-motorist claims require a lawsuit, an agreement, or a formal arbitration demand within two years (Insurance Code § 11580.2(i)). A driver involved in a crash with an injury, a death, or more than $1,000 in property damage must report it to the DMV within 10 days (Vehicle Code § 16000); a passenger should keep the police report number and the trip records.
This page provides general information, not legal advice. A consultation is needed to evaluate the facts, deadlines, parties, and law that may apply to a specific matter.
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