If an Uber or Lyft driver caused your crash, the first question is not how careless the driver was. It is what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact. California sets rideshare insurance by app status, and the required coverage behind the same driver ranges from a $30,000 personal policy minimum to $1,000,000, depending on whether the app was off, waiting for a request, or on a trip.
Here is how those periods work, whose insurance you claim against, and what to save before the trip data gets harder to reach. For an overview of how we handle these cases, see our rideshare accidents page.
The Three Coverage Periods Under California Law
California law calls Uber and Lyft “transportation network companies.” Public Utilities Code section 5433 requires the company and its drivers to carry specific insurance, and the amount turns on what the driver was doing in the app:
- App off. Section 5433 does not apply. The claim goes to the driver’s personal auto policy. For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, Vehicle Code section 16056 requires at least $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for injuries, and $15,000 for property damage.
- App on, waiting for a request. From log on until a ride is accepted, and again from the time the ride is over and the trip is closed out in the app until the next acceptance or log off, the rideshare coverage must be primary and at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injury and death, plus $30,000 for property damage. The company must also carry at least $200,000 per occurrence in excess coverage above those limits.
- Ride accepted through the end of the trip. From the moment the driver accepts a request until the ride is over or the driver closes out the trip in the app, whichever is later, coverage must be primary and $1,000,000 for death, personal injury, and property damage. This period starts before any passenger gets in, so it covers the drive to the pickup.
Two other parts of the statute matter. The rideshare insurer cannot make its coverage depend on the driver’s personal insurer denying the claim first. And when the driver carried the rideshare coverage personally and that policy lapsed, the company must provide the coverage from the first dollar.
Whose Insurance You Claim Against
If you were the passenger
If you were riding on a booked trip, the crash happened in the highest coverage period. When the rideshare driver caused it, the claim goes to the $1,000,000 rideshare policy, not the driver’s personal insurer. Your trip receipt is the simplest evidence of the period, which is why it is the first thing to save.
If you were another driver, a cyclist, or a pedestrian
For everyone outside the car, the period is the whole question, and you do not have the app data. A driver heading to a pickup has $1,000,000 in required coverage, the same driver idling between requests has a fraction of that, and an offline driver has only a personal policy. When injuries are serious, the period may be disputed. The company’s records of when the driver logged on, accepted the ride, and ended the trip are usually the clearest evidence of it. Ask for them during the claim; if the company will not provide them, they can be obtained through discovery in a lawsuit.
Write down anything at the scene that showed the driver was working: a rideshare sticker, a phone mounted with the app open, a driver saying they were headed to a pickup.
When Another Driver Hits the Rideshare Car While You Are a Passenger
Riding in an Uber does not mean Uber’s liability insurance pays. If another driver ran a red light and hit your car, your claim is first against that driver’s insurance. If both drivers share the blame, you can claim against both, and fault is divided as explained in our guide to liability in multi-car crashes.
But the at-fault driver may carry only the $30,000 minimum, or nothing at all. That is where the rideshare uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage comes in. Section 5433 requires the company to provide it from the moment a passenger enters the car until the passenger gets out, and makes it primary over any other uninsured motorist coverage. The required amount depends on the date of the crash:
- On or after January 1, 2026: $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, which is solely the company’s obligation.
- Before January 1, 2026: the earlier version of the statute required $1,000,000 in this coverage. A 2025 amendment lowered it.
That change matters for anyone hurt in 2025 who is still within the deadline. The statute sets what the company must provide, but the policy in force on the crash date controls what is actually available, so ask for the policy limits in writing whatever the date.
Underinsured coverage also does not stack on the at-fault driver’s policy. It pays only after that policy pays its limits, and it is reduced by what that insurer paid, so a $30,000 at-fault policy plus $60,000 in underinsured coverage yields $60,000 in total, not $90,000.
What to Capture Right Away
- The trip record. Screenshot the trip in the app: route, pickup and drop off times, driver name, vehicle, and plate, and save the emailed receipt. If the crash ended the trip early, capture that screen too.
- The driver’s name, plate, and insurance. Photograph the license plate and ask for both the rideshare insurance information and the driver’s personal policy.
- A report in the app. Report the crash through the help or safety section for that trip. Keep it factual, leave out guesses about fault or injuries, and screenshot what you send.
- A police report. Call 911 if anyone is hurt, and get the officer’s name and report number. The report may note whether the driver said a trip was underway.
- Photos and witnesses. The vehicles, the intersection, the traffic signals, and the names and numbers of anyone who stopped.
- Prompt medical care. Adjusters often point to a gap between the crash and your first visit as a reason to discount the claim.
You may hear from the rideshare insurer soon after the crash. You generally do not have to give the other side’s insurer a recorded statement, and there are good reasons not to give one early. A passenger claiming the rideshare uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is in a different position, because that coverage can carry a duty to cooperate, which may include a statement.
The Deadline
In California, a personal injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years of the crash under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Negotiating with an insurer does not pause that clock. An uninsured or underinsured motorist claim has its own version of the rule. Under Insurance Code section 11580.2, that claim generally cannot go forward unless, within two years, you have sued the at-fault driver, agreed with the insurer on the amount, or formally demanded arbitration in writing by certified mail. If a city bus or other public vehicle was involved, or a road defect contributed, a written claim against the public entity is generally due within six months under Government Code section 911.2, a deadline that is much easier to miss.
What to Do This Week
- Save the trip receipt and screenshots. If you were outside the car, write down everything that showed the driver was working.
- Get the police report number and request the report.
- Open a claim in writing with the insurer of each driver who may be at fault, including the rideshare insurer if the app may have been on, and hold off on a recorded statement until you know which period applies and what coverage exists.
- Keep every medical appointment and save every bill and receipt.
- Do not sign a release or a broad medical authorization for any insurer.
- Put the two-year date on your calendar, and the six-month date if a public entity may be involved.
About the author. Joshua B. Adelpour is the founder of Not My Fault Law Group, APC, a California personal injury firm based in Woodland Hills. He is licensed by the State Bar of California, Bar No. 318226, and spent nearly a decade defending insurance companies in civil litigation before opening the firm. Call (213) 800-0706 for a free consultation.
This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Last updated October 6, 2026.