Car Accidents

Hurt as an Uber or Lyft Passenger: Whose Insurance Pays?

You are almost never the one at fault

If you were riding in an Uber or Lyft when it crashed, you were a passenger. You were not driving, so the question of fault is between the drivers. That part is simple.

What is not simple is the insurance. Which policy pays for your injuries depends on who caused the crash, and the answer changed in California at the start of 2026.

If your rideshare driver caused the crash

While a rideshare driver is carrying a passenger, the rideshare company’s commercial insurance covers the driver’s liability, and that coverage is $1 million. If your Uber or Lyft driver ran the light, rear-ended someone or turned in front of oncoming traffic, that is the coverage that answers for your injuries.

This is the best case for a passenger, because $1 million covers most injuries, even serious ones.

If another driver caused the crash

If someone else hit your Uber or Lyft, the first source is that driver’s own insurance. Many drivers carry only California’s minimum, $30,000 per person, and some carry nothing.

When the other driver has too little insurance or none, the next layer is uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, often called UM or UIM. Until the end of 2025, California required rideshare companies to carry $1 million of it during a trip.

That changed on January 1, 2026. Under a new California law, SB 371, the required rideshare UM/UIM coverage dropped to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. For a passenger with serious injuries, hit by a driver with little or no insurance, that can be a fraction of what the injuries are worth.

Your own policy may help

If you own a car, your own auto policy may include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and it may apply even though you were riding in someone else’s car. Check your policy, or send it to a lawyer to read. This is one more reason to carry more than the minimum in UM/UIM coverage on your own car. Read uninsured motorist claims and what policy limits mean.

Crashes are not always one driver’s fault. When both drivers contributed, a passenger may have claims against both, and against both sets of insurance. Sorting out the order and the amounts is where an experienced lawyer earns the fee.

What to do right now

Screenshot the trip in the app before anything is archived: the driver’s name, the time, the route and the trip receipt
Report the crash in the app, factually, without guessing about fault or injuries
Get the names and insurance of every driver involved, and the police report number
Get medical attention, even if you feel only shaken up
Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer until you have talked to a lawyer. Read why you should decline.

The records that prove the trip was active live on the rideshare company’s servers. Read Uber and Lyft accidents for how those claims are built.

Talk to Boyd

If you were hurt in an Uber or Lyft, call before you talk to any adjuster. The consultation is free, and Boyd takes the call himself: (714) 656-2400.