Why Are Rideshare Accidents Different and More Complex?

rideshare uber lyft. Rideshare Car Accidents (Uber & Lyft)

Rideshare car accident insurance coverage can be a confusing and intricate topic for both riders and drivers alike. With the growing popularity of services like Uber and Lyft, understanding the protections available during an accident has become increasingly important.

Rideshare companies start coverage as soon as a driver logs into the app; however, the coverage might be limited until a ride request has been accepted. A driver’s personal auto insurance policy will usually have coverage exclusions during this period, as well. Rideshare insurance is necessary to fill in these gaps in coverage, and typically greatly increases the size of the insurance policy available over what the driver’s base policy is on their automobile.

What Makes Rideshare Car Accidents Different Than a Normal Car Wreck?

Auto accidents are complicated, but lawsuits against rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft present unique issues and complex challenges in personal injury cases. Rideshare car accident lawsuits can involve various insurance policies that may provide coverage for your damages. There are a couple of insurance and liability issues that passengers and drivers should be aware of.

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 36% of adults say they have used a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft. By comparison, just 15% of Americans said that Uber and Lyft compete with (and typically outnumber) taxis and other ride-sharing car services across the United States.

Uber and Lyft are similar to taxis services, but they do not own, operate, or control the cars, nor do they hire the drivers as employees. Rather, drivers contract with these companies to pick up passengers.

Ride share pick up.

How Do I Get Compensated if a Rideshare Driver is Responsible for My Injuries?

Although it may sound impressive that Uber and Lyft both provide $1 million in liability coverage for their drivers, the coverage varies depending on which “period” the driver is in. In the ridesharing and insurance world, a driver’s time is divided into 4 different phases:

Period 0: Personal Use, No Passenger, or Offline

When the driver is not logged in on the Uber or Lyft app, no coverage is provided, although the driver’s personal auto insurance might apply.

Period 1: Driver Logged In But Not Available for Pickup

When the driver is logged into the Uber or Lyft app but has not accepted a ride request. Uber and Lyft provide liability coverage for any accident that’s the fault of the driver up to $50,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $100,000 in total bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 property damage (excluding the driver’s car). Claims first go to their auto insurance carriers, with rideshare policies kicking in only if the damage exceeds the policy limits on the driver’s personal auto insurance policy.

Period 2: Available for Pickup, But No Passenger

When the driver has accepted a trip and is in-route to its destination (pick-up location), liability coverage increases to $1,000,000 in bodily injury per accident. This insurance covers the injuries and vehicle damage sustained by anyone who is hit by a Lyft or Uber driver when the rideshare driver is determined to be at-fault.

Liability coverage does not cover injuries sustained by the rideshare driver. Uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage (UM/UIM) kicks in for any incident in which the driver is liable.

Comprehensive and collision coverage also kicks in a this point in a rideshare policy, meaning the driver is covered for physical damage to the vehicle, regardless of who is determined to be at-fault.

Period 3: Carrying a Passenger

When the customer is in the car, liability coverage up to $1,000,000 is applied, plus limited coverage for damage to the driver’s car AND uninsured motorists coverage (UM/UIM). Uber and Lyft’s insurance policies are “contingent” meaning that they will only apply if you have made a claim on the driver’s policy first.

Understanding Rideshare Insurance

Many auto insurance carriers, including Progressive, offer rideshare coverage that can be added to a driver’s personal auto insurance policy. Progressive provides rideshare insurance for Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare companies.

Uber and Lyft drivers are REQUIRED to have rideshare insurance added to their personal auto insurance policy as a precondition for working on behalf of either rideshare company. The driver’s personal auto insurance policy will cover the driver’s car for physical damage during the periods when the rideshare policy will not.

While a driver’s personal or commercial policy may cover the gaps on an Uber or Lyft policy, it is important to make sure that as a driver, you are fully protected in the event of a rideshare car accident. Uber and Lyft do not offer gap coverage or medical payments for the driver.

Progressive offers 2 ways to get rideshare insurance in Texas:

  1. As a personal auto policy endorsement
  2. As a commercial for-hire livery policy

Livery Insurance for Taxi, Limousine, and Rideshare Drivers

Drivers of taxis, limousines or any other vehicle used by a business to transport people for a fee, typically need a commercial auto insurance policy or “livery insurance”. Progressive offers for-hire insurance – also known as livery insurance – in 38 states, including Texas.

Livery insurance is a type of commercial auto coverage for vehicles that are used by businesses to generate revenue from transporting customers. People who use their private vehicles for livery will need special protection that extends beyond basic auto insurance coverage. The cost for rideshare insurance is generally higher under a for-hire livery policy because it isn’t exclusively intended for rideshare drivers.

What You Should Know About Uber

The rideshare market has seen significant growth in recent years. Around 14 million Uber trips are completed every day. Rideshare service offers convenience and often costs less than the traditional taxi or driving and operating your own vehicle.

In terms of ridership, Uber has a larger share in the United States than Lyft, with 119.2 million users in the first 3 months of 2018, compared to 76.5 million for Lyft.

Uber Insurance Coverage

With Uber drivers, insurance coverage is up to $1 million in liability coverage per rideshare car accident for the duration of the ride, including contingent and collision damage coverage. Uber insurance covers the entire cost of the damaged vehicle with up to a $1,000 deductible.

There is also contingent coverage between trips for Uber drivers if the auto insurance coverage refuses to pay. Thus, rideshare insurance policies tend to look much like commercial vehicle insurance policies, with much larger policies and broader coverages.

What You Should Know About Lyft

Lyft’s insurance coverage is also $1 million in liability coverage and has additional 24/7 customer service and insurance agents to speak with through their critical response line. Their contingent comprehensive coverage is a $2,500 deductible, as opposed to $1,000 for Uber.

Lyft has an emergency hotline at (855) 865-9553 available 24/7, in addition to online customer support email support@lyft.com, with response times of typically 48 hours or less. By comparison, Uber just has the form for customer support and response time can vary between 2 to 5 working days.

Lyft Legal Implications

Anyone considering Lyft as their method of transportation should keep in mind the legal issues that may be involved and affect the ability of the injured passenger to recover damages. The additional Lyft policy provides $1 million of excess liability insurance which provides coverage beyond the scope of the driver’s existing insurance policy coverage. There is no charge to the driver for this additional coverage, nor does it affect any personal coverage carried by the driver.

What this means to a seriously injured parties in a rideshare car accident is that there is significantly more insurance available to cover their injuries than the State minimum policy limits in Texas of:

  • $30,000 bodily injury liability per person
  • $60,000 bodily injury liability per accident
  • $25,000 property damage liability per accident

Car Insurance Policies for Rideshare Drivers

While Uber and Lyft highlight the extensive coverage they have in place for their passengers in the event their drivers get in a rideshare car accident, it is important to make sure the coverage applies to your situation. The average personal car insurance policy will not cover “commercial use”. While the typical auto-insurance policy covers carpooling – defined as several passengers in the same car going to a common destination and splitting the cost – Uber and Lyft do not qualify as “carpooling”.

The rationale is that as soon as a driver begins to make a profit out of driving people, the law requires them to obtain commercial insurance similar to taxis, 18-wheelers, and other commercial vehicles. In the event that you are injured in a rideshare car accident, users must be prepared for insurance companies to deny their claim for a variety of reasons, which is why it is important to consult an injury attorney as soon as possible.

Personal auto insurance policies typically contain a business-use exclusion, which means coverage doesn’t apply when the driver is using their personal vehicle for business purposes. This is where a rideshare car accident can get complicated.  The moment a rideshare driver picks up a customer, the rideshare driver has no liability and collision insurance under their personal auto insurance policy.

Rideshare car accident attorney

What to Do if You’re Involved in a Rideshare Car Accident

If you’re involved in any rideshare car accident, follow these steps:

  1. Check that all parties involved are safe.
  2. Notify the police and paramedics, if necessary.
  3. Contact Uber in the Help section of the Driver app.
  4. Select Trip Issues and Adjustments, and then select “I was in an accident”.
  5. You can also speak directly with a trained agent by going to the “Help” section of your Driver app and tapping “Call Support”.

Types of Rideshare Car Accidents

There are multiple ways in which you may be involved in a rideshare car accident, such as:

  1. You’re the passenger in a rideshare vehicle.
  2. You’re the driver of a vehicle that collides with the rideshare vehicle.
  3. You’re a pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a rideshare driver.

How to Prove Negligence By the Rideshare Driver

The first step in your case will be to determine liability, meaning who is at-fault in the rideshare car accident. In order to have a personal injury case, you must be able to prove that the other driver was at-fault (i.e., negligent) for the rideshare car accident.

To prove negligence, you must establish 4 elements:

  1. Duty of Care: The person owed a duty of reasonable care, as all drivers share a duty to drive carefully and obey all traffic laws.
  2. Breach: The driver breached that duty, meaning he or she did not drive carefully or obey traffic laws.
  3. Causation: Establish a direct link between the breach of duty and your injuries.
  4. Damages: You were injured or suffered damages as a result of the other driver’s breach of the duties above.

Fault in a rideshare car accident case may be attributed to multiple parties, which can increase the odds of compensation, but also the complexity of the case. What makes rideshare car accidents different is the role that the insurance company plays when the injured party seeks reimbursement from the at-fault party.

Rideshare Driver Requirements

The standard driver requirements are the same for both Uber and Lyft:

  • At least 21 years of age
  • Valid driver’s license for at least a year
  • Vehicles must be 15 years old or newer.
  • Valid registration papers at the time of application are needed. Check for any impending renewals before applying.
  • Must pass background checks, including federal, county, and multi-state criminal background checks by third party agencies.

To maintain an active account, drivers must accept at least one trip in any given month.

No Win No Fee for Personal Injury Case

Have You Been Injured in a Rideshare Car Accident?

The Uber and Lyft car accident lawyers at Thompson Law have experience handling these types of complex injury cases and are familiar with the issues related to rideshare car accident lawsuits. Our attorneys are prepared to use their knowledge, experience, and resources to help you recover maximum compensation for you rideshare car accident injuries.

After you’ve been hurt in a rideshare car accident, you need someone on your side to fight the insurance companies for you. Contact Thompson Law today and tell us what happened to you.

Our case reviews are 100% free and always confidential. Contact us anytime 24/7/365 so we can get started on your case.

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