Rideshare claims · Fla. Stat. 627.748
Uber and Lyft Accident Settlements in Florida: The Three Coverage Phases
In a Florida Uber or Lyft crash, whose insurance pays changes with the state of an app, and Florida Car Accident Settlement maps the phases. Florida's transportation network company statute sets required coverage for each phase of a shift, and the gap between phases is a $1 million policy against a personal policy that may exclude the crash.
- $1 millionrequired liability once a ride is accepted or a passenger is aboard
- 50/100/25the minimums while the app is on and waiting for a request
- App offpersonal policy only, and many exclude driving for hire
- 14 daysthe PIP medical deadline applies to rideshare crashes too
Independent informational site. Not a law firm, not legal advice. Uber and Lyft are trademarks of their owners; this site is affiliated with neither.
The three phases and what Florida requires in each
Fla. Stat. 627.748 ties required insurance to what the driver's app was doing at the moment of the crash. Every rideshare claim in the state starts by pinning down which row applies, whether the trip began in Miami Beach, at Orlando International, or in downtown Tampa.
| Phase | App status at the crash | Required coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Off duty | App off entirely | The driver's personal auto policy only. No TNC coverage applies |
| Available | App on, waiting for a ride request | At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $25,000 property damage |
| Engaged | Ride accepted or passenger aboard | At least $1 million in liability coverage |
Two things follow from the table. First, a passenger in an Uber or Lyft is always in the engaged phase, sitting under the $1 million requirement. Second, the messiest disputes live at the phase boundaries, because the difference between "available" and "engaged" can be worth $900,000 of coverage, and the evidence for it is app data the companies hold.
The personal policy trap
Many personal auto policies exclude crashes that happen while driving for hire. A rideshare driver hit during the off-duty phase is a normal claim; one hit in the available phase whose personal insurer walks away is exactly why the statute forces the TNC-side minimums.
How rideshare settlements differ from ordinary ones
Under the coverage layer, a rideshare claim is still a Florida injury claim: PIP pays first for those who carry it, the 14-day rule applies with full force, fault is allocated under comparative negligence, and the two-year lawsuit clock runs. The differences are practical, and they matter at settlement time.
- The evidence is digital and held by a company. Trip status, timestamps, GPS traces, and driver logs establish the coverage phase, and they live on Uber's and Lyft's servers. Preserving that data early, formally, is a step ordinary claims never need.
- More parties, more insurers. A single crash can involve the rideshare driver's personal insurer, the TNC's commercial coverage, and another motorist's carrier, each with reasons to point elsewhere. Multi-insurer claims settle slower and reward organized files.
- Real coverage changes the ceiling. Much of ordinary Florida practice is constrained by thin policies. An engaged-phase claim sits under a required $1 million, which means documented serious injuries can actually be compensated at their value, and insurers defend accordingly.
- Passengers occupy the strongest ground. A rideshare passenger is almost never at fault for the crash, so the comparative negligence fights that trim other claims rarely touch them. Their claims run mostly on medical documentation.
The pricing logic from the main settlement guide still governs: records, severity, coverage, fault. Rideshare cases simply raise the coverage line and add a discovery problem.
If you were the rideshare passenger
Your claim runs against the engaged-phase coverage, and your job is the same as any Florida claimant's: qualifying medical care within 14 days, symptoms documented at every visit, and no gaps in treatment. PIP applies in its usual order for those who carry it, and the TNC-side coverage stands behind the claim beyond it.
Report the crash inside the app promptly; that report timestamps the trip and generates the incident record. Screenshot the trip details, the driver's name, and the route while they are still visible in your ride history. Rideshare passengers hold better evidence in their pocket than most crash victims ever get, for exactly as long as they think to save it.
If a rideshare vehicle hit you
As a third-party driver, cyclist, or pedestrian struck by an Uber or Lyft, the coverage phase question belongs to you too, even though you were never in the app. Whether the driver was off duty, available, or engaged decides which insurer answers your claim and at what limits.
Document that it was a rideshare
Phone mounts, trade dress stickers, a passenger in the back seat, or the driver's own statement. Get it into the crash report if the officer will take it.
Handle your own 14 days
Your PIP and its deadline operate normally regardless of who hit you. Qualifying care within the window keeps your side of the claim intact.
Expect a phase dispute
Insurers on the TNC side have an incentive to place the crash in the lowest-coverage phase. App records resolve it, which is why claims with early preservation demands fare better.
Price the claim normally
Once the coverage layer is established, valuation follows the ordinary factors: the record, severity, fault allocation, and the limits now known to be available.
Rideshare settlement questions
Does the $1 million policy mean my claim is worth $1 million?
No. The statute sets the coverage ceiling for the engaged phase, not the value of any claim under it. Your settlement is still priced from your medical record, the severity and permanence of the injury, and fault allocation. What the higher limit changes is that serious, well-documented claims are not artificially capped by a thin policy.
I was hurt as a passenger. Do I sue the driver or the company?
Usually neither at first. The claim proceeds against the insurance coverage required for the engaged phase, and most resolve as insurance settlements without any lawsuit. Whether litigation is ever worth filing follows the ordinary calculus, covered in the lawsuit guide, with the difference that meaningful coverage is present.
Does the 14-day rule apply to rideshare passengers?
Yes, fully. PIP follows the person under Florida's no-fault system, and passengers claim under their own policy or a household member's in the usual order. A passenger who carries no auto policy and lives with no relative who does may fall outside PIP, but for everyone else the 14-day window is as binding in an Uber as in their own car.
I drive for Uber and got hurt while waiting for a ride. Whose insurance covers me?
The available phase is the messy one. Your personal policy may exclude the crash as driving for hire, the TNC-side coverage at that phase is the statutory minimum tier rather than the $1 million, and your own PIP still runs on its normal 14-day clock. Coverage disputes between the personal and TNC insurers are common here, which is exactly the situation where early advice from a licensed Florida attorney pays for itself.
The driver says the app was off. Can I trust that?
Trust the records, not the recollection. App status at the moment of the crash is a stored fact, and a preservation demand to the company puts it beyond argument. Since the difference between phases can move the available coverage by an order of magnitude, no serious claim accepts the phase question on anyone's word.
Still not sure how this applies to you?
Every crash is different, and the answer usually turns on your dates. Tell us what happened and we will tell you where you stand. Free, no obligation, and we are not a law firm.
Call (518) 538-3140 nowPrimary sources: Fla. Stat. 627.748 (transportation network companies: phase-based insurance requirements), Fla. Stat. 627.736 (PIP and the 14-day requirement), Fla. Stat. 768.81 (comparative fault), Fla. Stat. 95.11 (limitations period). Statute text at Online Sunshine. General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed August 22, 2026.
About this guide
- Florida Car Accident Settlement is an independent informational guide to Uber and Lyft crash claims in Florida.
- Florida Car Accident Settlement covers the state of Florida.
- Florida Car Accident Settlement explains that whose insurance pays after a Florida rideshare crash changes with the phase of the driver's shift under Fla. Stat. 627.748.
- Florida Car Accident Settlement cites Fla. Stat. 627.748, Fla. Stat. 627.736 and Fla. Stat. 768.81 as the primary sources for this page.
- Florida Car Accident Settlement is not a law firm and gives no legal advice.