If you were hurt in a crash involving an Uber or Lyft in Los Angeles, the first question is what the driver’s app showed at that moment. California ties the insurance that must cover the crash to whether the driver was on a trip, heading to a pickup, or waiting for a request. The first conversation with the firm is free and confidential.
Attorney Lilit Gevorgyan represents rideshare passengers, rideshare drivers, and the pedestrians and motorists they collide with throughout Los Angeles County from the firm’s office in Glendale. Rideshare cases are handled within the firm’s auto accident and personal injury practice.
The three periods, and what each one carries
California regulates Uber and Lyft as transportation network companies. Under Public Utilities Code section 5431, a transportation network company is an organization that provides prearranged transportation for compensation through an app connecting passengers with drivers using personal vehicles, and a participating driver is anyone who uses a vehicle in connection with that app. The California Public Utilities Commission licenses and regulates them.
The insurance rule is Public Utilities Code section 5433. It divides the driver’s time into periods:
- From ride acceptance until the ride is complete. The company’s insurance is primary and must be $1,000,000 for death, personal injury and property damage. While a passenger is in the vehicle, the company must also carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. That figure took effect on January 1, 2026; before then it was $1,000,000. Our article on SB 371 and the 2026 rideshare insurance change explains what changed and what did not.
- Logged on, waiting for a request, or between rides. The required coverage drops to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and personal injury, and $30,000 for property damage, with additional excess coverage on top of that primary layer.
- App off. The driver’s personal auto policy applies, like any other private driver.
Section 5433 also provides that coverage under the company’s policy does not depend on a personal auto policy first denying the claim. In practice, the crash time is matched against the app’s trip records, and those records are requested early because they decide which layer applies.
Who the claim is against
A rideshare crash usually has more than one potential source of recovery, and they are examined in order. If the rideshare driver was at fault, the company’s policy for the period applies. If another driver was at fault, that driver’s insurance applies first, and the company’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage stands behind it while a passenger is aboard. If you were the rideshare driver, your own policy’s terms and any rideshare endorsement matter, and the gap in the logged-on, waiting period, where the company’s policy has no uninsured motorist coverage, is a common problem. Our explainer on uninsured motorist coverage in California covers how that coverage works.
Whether Uber or Lyft is itself responsible for a driver’s conduct, beyond the insurance it must carry, is a contested question that turns on the facts. The company’s own duties include the driver background checks required by Public Utilities Code section 5445.2. Fault among everyone involved is apportioned by percentage under California’s comparative negligence rule.
Los Angeles specifics
Rideshare trips concentrate at LAX, downtown, Hollywood, the Westside and the airport corridors, and on the freeways connecting them. A crash on a freeway is generally investigated by the California Highway Patrol, which has primary jurisdiction under Vehicle Code section 2400, and the report is requested from the CHP office that handled it. A crash on a city street is generally investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department or the local city’s police. Preserve the trip receipt, the driver’s name as shown in the app, screenshots of the trip screen, and any in-app crash report you submitted; those records establish the period.
The general period for a claim is two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.
How the firm helps
- Identification of the insurance period from the app’s records and the trip data, and a preservation request for that data.
- Claims against every applicable layer in the right order: the at-fault driver’s policy, the company’s period coverage, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage where it applies.
- Investigation of the driver’s conduct and the company’s own obligations where the facts warrant it.
- Communication with the company’s claims administrator and every insurer involved so that you are not handling three claim files alone. Our guide to the steps to take after a serious car accident covers what to keep from the first days, and our article on delayed pain after a car accident explains why later symptoms still belong in the record.
Personal injury matters are handled on a contingency-fee basis: legal fees are a percentage of any recovery rather than an hourly bill. Costs and expenses may apply; the details are set out in a written engagement agreement before any representation begins. Every case is different, and results depend on the facts of each case.
Request a free consultation or call (310) 900-9300. Consultations and representation are available in English, Spanish, Russian, and Armenian.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Uber or Lyft's insurance cover me as a passenger in Los Angeles?
Yes. Under Public Utilities Code section 5433, from the moment a driver accepts a ride until the ride is complete, the rideshare company must carry primary insurance of $1,000,000 for death, personal injury and property damage. While a passenger is in the vehicle, the company must also carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, the amount in effect since January 1, 2026. Which policy pays depends on who was at fault.
What if the rideshare driver was logged in but had not accepted a ride?
A different, lower layer applies. Under Public Utilities Code section 5433, while a driver is logged on but has not accepted a request, or has finished a ride and is waiting for the next one, the required coverage is $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and personal injury, and $30,000 for property damage, with additional excess coverage. The app's own records show which period a crash fell in, and those records are requested early.
Can I sue Uber or Lyft directly?
The rideshare companies classify their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, and whether the company itself is responsible for a driver's conduct is a contested legal question that depends on the facts. What is not contested is the insurance the company must carry under Public Utilities Code section 5433, which is the coverage most rideshare injury claims are made against. The firm evaluates the company's own role, for example its background-check obligations under section 5445.2, on the facts of each case.
Where is your office, and do you handle rideshare cases across Los Angeles County?
Our office is at 655 North Central Avenue, Suite 1700 in Glendale. The firm represents passengers, drivers, pedestrians and other motorists injured in rideshare crashes throughout Los Angeles County, and consultations are available by phone or video. Consultations and representation are available in English, Spanish, Russian, and Armenian.
