From the moment the driver accepts a ride until it ends: $1,000,000 in liability coverage. While a passenger is in the vehicle, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident applies. That figure was $1,000,000 until January 1, 2026.Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 5433(b)
From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the last rider gets out: $1,000,000 in total liability coverage per incident. Uninsured motorist coverage and PIP also apply where Texas law requires them.Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.053
From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the passenger gets out: $1,000,000 in combined liability coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident applies while a passenger is in the vehicle, and PIP applies as state law requires.RCW 46.72B.180
It depends on the app
Uber and Lyft drivers use their own cars, and a personal auto policy may not cover driving for a rideshare company. So each state requires rideshare companies to make sure coverage exists, in amounts that change with what the driver is doing:
App off. The driver is an ordinary driver. Only the driver's personal policy applies.
App on, waiting for a request. A lower level of required coverage applies.
Ride accepted, through drop off. The highest level applies, from the moment the driver accepts a request until the last passenger gets out.
The first question after any rideshare crash is therefore which of those three periods the driver was in.
The coverage in each state
The three periods of a rideshare trip
The required coverage changes with what the driver’s app is doing.
A rideshare trip has three periods. With the app off, only the driver’s personal policy applies. With the app on and no ride accepted, each state requires a lower level of coverage. From the moment a ride is accepted until the passenger gets out, each state requires its highest level. The amounts for each state follow.
1
App off
Personal policy only.
The driver is an ordinary driver. Only the driver’s personal policy applies.
2
App on, waiting for a request
A lower level of required coverage.
California
At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injuries, and $30,000 for property damage, plus $200,000 in excess coverage.Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 5433(c)
Texas
At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage.Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.052
Washington
At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for injuries, and $30,000 for property damage, plus underinsured motorist coverage and PIP as state law requires.RCW 46.72B.180
3
Ride accepted, through drop off
The highest level of required coverage.
California
From the moment the driver accepts a ride until it ends: $1,000,000 in liability coverage. While a passenger is in the vehicle, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident applies. That figure was $1,000,000 until January 1, 2026.Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 5433(b)
Texas
From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the last rider gets out: $1,000,000 in total liability coverage per incident. Uninsured motorist coverage and PIP also apply where Texas law requires them.Tex. Ins. Code § 1954.053
Washington
From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the passenger gets out: $1,000,000 in combined liability coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident applies while a passenger is in the vehicle, and PIP applies as state law requires.RCW 46.72B.180
Two things in those figures are easy to miss.
The $1,000,000 figure is liability coverage. It pays people the rideshare driver injures. It is not a promise that every injured passenger has $1,000,000 available in every situation.
And the coverage that protects you when some other driver causes the crash and has no insurance is much lower than it used to be. In California it dropped from $1,000,000 to $60,000 per person on January 1, 2026. In Washington it is $100,000 per person. Many pages online still show the old numbers.
If you were a passenger
A passenger is almost never at fault, which removes the hardest question in most claims. What remains is which driver caused the crash:
Your rideshare driver caused it. The rideshare liability coverage for an active trip applies.
Another driver caused it. That driver's insurance is first in line. If it is not enough, or there is none, the rideshare policy's uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage applies, up to the limits shown above. Your own auto policy may add to that.
Both shared the blame. Both policies can be involved.
If a rideshare driver hit you
If you were in another car, on a motorcycle, on a bike or on foot, your claim is against the rideshare driver, and the coverage depends on the period. If the app was off, you are dealing with the driver's personal policy alone, with the same low minimum limits as any other driver.
That is why proof of the driver's status matters. The companies keep records of when a driver was logged in and when a ride was accepted, and those records can be obtained in a claim.
When the other driver has no insurance
This is where the 2026 change in California bites. A passenger badly hurt by an uninsured driver once had $1,000,000 of protection through the rideshare company. Now it is $60,000 per person, and $300,000 for everyone in the incident together.
Your own policy may fill part of the gap. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own auto policy generally follows you, including when you are a passenger in someone else's car.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy
California
Texas
Washington
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
Every auto liability policy includes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless the insurer and a named insured removed or reduced it in a signed written agreement.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(a)
An auto policy in Texas must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage unless a named insured rejected it in writing. If you never signed a rejection, you may have this coverage without knowing it.Tex. Ins. Code § 1952.101
A new auto policy must include underinsured motorist coverage, which in Washington also covers uninsured, hit and run and phantom vehicles, unless the named insured or spouse rejected it in writing.RCW 48.22.030
See our guide to uninsured driver claims for how those claims work and the deadlines that apply to them.
What to do after a rideshare crash
Get medical care first.
Take screenshots of the trip in your app: the driver's name, the vehicle, the route and the time. Do this before the trip disappears from your recent activity.
Report the crash through the app, and keep it to the facts.
Call the police so there is a report, and get the other driver's information as you would in any crash.
Keep the receipt the company emails you. It shows that a ride was in progress.
Be careful with statements. The rideshare company's insurer is not your insurer.
Deadlines
The ordinary limitation periods apply, and they are the same whether the claim is against the rideshare driver or another driver.
The clocks that can be running
More than one deadline can apply to the same event. The bars share one scale: the full width is 3 years.
Notice to your own insurer
Right away Policies require prompt notice of a crash.
Claims against a government agency
California
6 monthsfor a written claim or notice
Texas
6 monthsfor a written claim or notice. A city can set a shorter period.
Washington
60 day waitafter the form, before a lawsuit
Deadline to sue for an injury
California
2 years
Texas
2 years
Washington
3 years
Deadline for a claim under your own policy
Its own deadline It runs on your policy’s terms and on rules of its own, and it is not always longer than the lawsuit deadline.
A written claim must be presented to the city, county, state agency or other public entity within six months. If the entity sends a proper written rejection, a lawsuit generally has to be filed within six months of that notice. A request to file late must be made within a reasonable time, not to exceed one year after the claim arose. The statute leaves a few narrow kinds of time out of that year.Cal. Gov. Code §§ 911.2, 911.4, 945.6
A city, county, school district or state agency must receive notice of the claim within six months of the incident. The notice describes the injury or damage, the time and place, and what happened. A city’s charter can set its own notice period, which may be shorter, so do not assume you have the full six months.Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101
Before suing a city, county or other local government, you must present a tort claim form to its designated agent and then wait 60 calendar days. Claims against the State go to the Office of Risk Management with the same 60 day wait. The form has to be presented within the normal limitation period, and that period is paused during the 60 days.RCW 4.96.020; RCW 4.92.100; RCW 4.92.110
Deadline to sue for an injury
Generally two years for an injury caused by someone else’s wrongful act or carelessness.Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
For an uninsured motorist claim, one of three things must happen within two years of the crash: a lawsuit is filed against the uninsured driver, an agreement on the amount is reached with your insurer, or arbitration is formally started in writing by certified mail.Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2(i)
Claims under uninsured motorist coverage can have their own, different deadlines. Use the deadline checker for the general rule, then talk to a lawyer about your own facts.
The ordinary rule on shared fault applies to rideshare crashes too. It matters most when you were in another vehicle or on foot.
Texas reduces your damages by your percentage of responsibility. If you are found more than 50 percent responsible, you recover nothing.Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 33.001, 33.012
Your share of fault reduces your damages by that percentage but does not bar your claim. One exception: an injured person who was under the influence can be barred entirely if that was a cause of the injury and they were more than 50 percent at fault.RCW 4.22.005; RCW 5.40.060
Who pays for injuries in an Uber or Lyft accident?
It depends on what the driver’s app was doing. With the app off, only the driver’s personal policy applies. With the app on and no ride accepted, a lower level of required coverage applies, and from the moment a ride is accepted until the passenger gets out, the highest level applies. If another driver caused the crash, that driver’s insurance is first in line.
I was a passenger in an Uber that crashed. Whose insurance covers me?
If your rideshare driver caused the crash, the liability coverage for an active trip applies, which is $1,000,000 in California, Texas and Washington. If another driver caused it, that driver’s insurance is first in line. If that is not enough, or there is none, the rideshare policy’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage applies up to its limit, and your own auto policy may add to that.
Does Uber’s insurance cover me if the other driver has no insurance?
While a passenger is in the vehicle, yes, but the limits are lower than many pages say. In California the required uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, down from $1,000,000 before January 1, 2026. In Washington it is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. In Texas, uninsured motorist coverage applies where Texas law requires it.
Who pays if an Uber driver hits a pedestrian or another car?
The claim is against the rideshare driver, and the coverage depends on what the app was doing. If the app was off, you are dealing with the driver’s personal policy alone. If the app was on, the required rideshare coverage for that period applies, and it is highest once a ride has been accepted.
How do I prove the driver was on the app?
The companies keep records of when a driver was logged in and when a ride was accepted, and those records can be obtained in a claim. If you were the passenger, take screenshots of the trip in your app before it disappears from your recent activity. Keep the receipt the company emails you, because it shows that a ride was in progress.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after an Uber or Lyft accident?
The ordinary deadlines apply, whether the claim is against the rideshare driver or another driver: generally two years in California and Texas and three years in Washington. Claims under uninsured motorist coverage can have their own, different deadlines.
Sources
Primary sources for the rules on this page. Checked on the dates shown.
This site gives general legal information. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Deadlines depend on the facts. Some are much shorter than the general rule. Do not rely on this page to decide how long you can wait.
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