Rideshare crashes

Why rideshare crashes are different

TDI’s auto insurance guide lists, among the things most personal policies do not cover, accidents that happen while you are driving for a ride-hailing service or delivering for a fee. Texas Insurance Code Chapter 1954 fills that gap for transportation network companies, the legal term for app-based rideshare platforms, by requiring coverage during set periods. Section 1954.151 allows a personal auto insurer to exclude coverage while the driver is logged on to a company’s digital network or providing a prearranged ride.

The two statutory periods

Chapter 1954 separates driving in the app into two situations:

• Logged on and available, no ride yet. Section 1954.052 requires primary automobile liability coverage of at least $50,000 for bodily injury to or death for each person in an incident, $100,000 for bodily injury or death per incident, and $25,000 for damage to or destruction of property of others in an incident, plus uninsured/underinsured motorist and personal injury protection coverage where other sections require them.
• Engaged in a prearranged ride. Section 1954.053 requires primary automobile coverage with a total aggregate limit of liability of $1 million for death, bodily injury, and property damage for each incident. Section 1954.001 defines a prearranged ride as beginning when the driver accepts a ride requested through the app and ending when the last requesting rider leaves the vehicle.

Section 1954.051 allows this coverage to be provided by insurance the driver maintains, by insurance the company maintains, or by a combination. Section 1954.101 also requires the company to tell drivers in writing, before they accept rides, what coverage it provides and that their personal policy may not cover them while logged on or on a ride. When the app was off entirely, the driver’s personal policy is the usual starting point, as with any other car.

If the driver’s own coverage lapsed

Section 1954.054 says that if the insurance the driver maintains under the chapter lapses or does not provide the required coverage, the insurance maintained by the transportation network company shall provide the required coverage beginning with the first dollar of a claim against the driver. Section 1954.055 adds that the company’s coverage is not contingent on the driver’s personal insurer first denying a claim.

What the driver must tell you

Section 1954.056 says that in a collision, a driver must provide proof of insurance to a directly interested person, an automobile insurer, and the investigating peace officer on request, and must also disclose, on request, whether the driver was logged on to the company’s network or on a prearranged ride at the time.

Practical questions to ask, politely, at the scene:

• Which app or apps were you logged on to?
• Were you waiting for a request, on the way to a pickup, or carrying a rider?
• Can you show the insurance information the app provides, plus your personal insurance card?

Write the answers down along with the plate, the driver’s name, and the time. If you were the rider, screenshot the trip in your own app before it closes, including the driver name, vehicle, and route.

Records the company must provide for a claim

Section 1954.154 says that, in an insurance claim investigation, a transportation network company and its insurers must assist each insurer involved by providing information that includes the precise times the driver logged on and off the network in the 12-hour period immediately before and after the accident. That timing is what decides which period applied.

If you were a rider

A rider in a car during a prearranged ride is in the period with the highest required coverage. Your own auto policy may also matter: TDI says medical payments coverage pays if you are hurt while riding in someone else’s car, and PIP pays medical bills and some nonmedical costs for those it covers. Check your declarations page. Report the crash through the app as well as to police when someone is hurt.

If a rideshare car hit you

Collect the same information as in any crash, plus the app status. You can usually open a claim with the driver’s personal insurer, the company’s insurer, or both, and each may ask about the app status. If you have collision coverage, TDI notes you can file with your own company if the other side will not pay, and you will usually pay your deductible.

If you drive for an app

Tell your personal insurer the truth about app use. Policies and endorsements for rideshare driving vary, and the exclusions Section 1954.151 permits mean your personal policy may not respond while you are logged on. Ask your agent in writing what applies in each period.