Rideshare crashes confuse everybody, including the adjusters. There can be three insurance companies involved before anyone even talks about fault: the rideshare company's insurer, the driver's personal insurer, and yours.
The details matter. In a rideshare case, one detail matters more than all the rest: what was the app doing when the crash happened?
Utah sets the coverage by app status
Utah's Transportation Network Company law, Utah Code § 13-51-108, requires insurance on a primary basis in two periods, and the amounts are very different.
During a prearranged ride. That period starts when the driver accepts a ride request in the app and ends when the passenger gets out of the car. The law requires:
- liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence
- personal injury protection, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage as Utah requires
During the waiting period. The driver is logged into the app but has not accepted a ride. The minimum liability coverage drops to:
- $50,000 to any one person
- $100,000 to all persons
- $30,000 for property damage
App off. The driver is just a driver. You are generally looking at their personal auto policy, and personal policies can exclude commercial driving. That is exactly the fight that leaves injured people waiting while two insurers point at each other.
The same crash can be a million-dollar coverage case or a minimum-limits case, depending on a timestamp inside an app. So we do not guess. We get the records.
If you were the passenger
You were in the car during a prearranged ride, so the higher coverage is in play. You were not driving, so fault is usually not a question about you at all. It is a question about your driver and whoever else was involved.
Your own PIP matters too. Utah is a no-fault state for the first $3,000 of medical expenses under § 31A-22-307, and if you have your own auto policy, its PIP generally covers you as the named insured when you are hurt in an accident involving a motor vehicle.
If a rideshare driver hit you
Ask for the driver's name, their insurance, and whether they were driving for Uber or Lyft. Photograph the trade dress or sticker in the windshield if there is one, and the app screen if they will show you. Write down exactly what they say about whether they had a passenger or were waiting for a ride.
If you were the rideshare driver
Your personal insurer and the rideshare company's insurer may each say it is the other's claim. Report the crash through the app and to your own company, and keep screenshots of your app status and trip history. Do not let a gap between the two companies turn into a gap in your treatment.
What the insurance company will do
The same things every adjuster does, with an extra layer of confusion to hide behind:
- Ask for a recorded statement. Tell them no. Give simple facts in writing.
- Argue about app status. Do not speculate about what the driver's app showed. "I don't know" is a complete answer. Let the records decide it.
- Offer something quick. Not before you know what your injuries are.
Utah's comparative fault rule, § 78B-5-818, still applies. You recover only if the other side's fault is greater than yours, and your share comes off the top.
The first week
- Get medical care. It is not the time to be brave. Tell the provider everything that hurts.
- Take pictures. The cars, the damage, the road, the signals, the people.
- Save the trip. Screenshot the ride receipt, the route and the driver's details in your app before anything changes.
- Start a crash diary. Every call: date, time, who, what they said.
- Find your car. If it was towed, find out who is paying storage. Unless someone tells you in writing, assume nobody is.
The deadlines
- Personal injury — four years. Utah Code § 78B-2-307.
- Wrongful death — two years. § 78B-2-304.
- Vehicle property damage — three years. § 78B-2-305.
LawyerUp handles the vehicle claim alongside the injury claim, so the car and your treatment are in one file while the insurers sort out which of them owes it.
Call (801) 685-1000. The consultation is free.