Rideshare Accidents
Rideshare claims turn on a question that sounds trivial and is not: what exactly was the driver doing when the collision happened?
The short answer
Coverage depends on the app status at the moment of the crash. With the app off, only the driver's personal policy applies. Waiting for a request, lower company limits apply. From accepting a request until the trip ends, $1,000,000 applies. Uninsured motorist cover required of rideshare companies during a trip was reduced substantially on 1 January 2026.
Three periods, three very different answers
California regulates rideshare insurance in periods defined by what the driver was doing.
With the app switched off, the driver is simply a private motorist and only their personal policy applies. With the app on but no ride accepted, the company must carry $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident and $30,000 property damage, plus $200,000 excess. From the moment a request is accepted until the trip is complete, $1,000,000 applies.
This is why establishing app status matters so much, and why it is worth recording the trip details, driver name and vehicle immediately rather than relying on reconstructing it later.
A change most sources have not caught up with
Uninsured and underinsured motorist cover required of rideshare companies during a trip was reduced from $1,000,000 to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, effective 1 January 2026.
Almost every article written before 2026 still states the old figure. If you are a passenger injured by an uninsured third party while in a rideshare vehicle, the protection available to you is now substantially lower than it was, and you should be careful about relying on older guidance.
If you were the passenger
Passengers are very rarely at fault, which removes the hardest question from the claim. What remains is establishing which policy responds and what the injuries are worth. Keep the trip receipt and screenshots from the app: they establish app status better than anything else.
If you were the rideshare driver
Personal auto policies commonly exclude commercial passenger carriage, which can leave a genuine gap during the waiting period unless a rideshare endorsement has been added. Checking this is worth doing before it matters rather than afterwards.
A note on the figures above
These are the statutory minimums. Rideshare companies may provide more than the law requires, so the current certificate of insurance published by the company is the authoritative source for what is actually available in a given case.
See what applies to your situation
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Sources
Every statement on this page traces to one of the following. Where a source is not the issuing body itself, that is noted.
- Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 5433. FindLaw, California Public Utilities Code § 5433 Secondary source Checked 20 August 2026.
- Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 5433, as amended by SB 371 (2025). FindLaw, California Public Utilities Code § 5433 Secondary source Checked 20 August 2026.
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. Stanford Law School, Supreme Court of California Resources Primary source Checked 20 August 2026.
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1. California Courts Self-Help Guide, Deadlines to sue someone Official source Checked 20 August 2026.
Some statutory text above was read from an established legal database rather than the Legislature's own site, which blocks automated access. The wording was cross-checked across multiple databases and against official California guidance. If you are relying on the exact text, read it on the Legislature's official site.
Other accident types
Car Accidents
The most common claim type, and the baseline for how fault and insurance work.
Truck Accidents
Commercial vehicles bring extra rules, extra records and more than one possible defendant.
Motorcycle Accidents
Serious injuries are common, and riders often face assumptions about how the crash happened.
Rideshare Accidents
Which policy applies depends entirely on what the driver was doing at that moment.
Pedestrian Accidents
Right of way, crosswalks and visibility usually decide how these claims are assessed.
Bicycle Accidents
Road position, lighting and driver awareness are usually central to what happened.
Wrongful Death
Who may bring a claim, and what it can cover, is set by California statute.