By Shaun Plymale, Esq. of Treasure Coast Legal

The increasing popularity of Uber, Lyft and other rideshare companies raises some interesting questions about what happens if they are involved in an auto accident. The vast majority of Uber drivers only have personal auto insurance coverage, which does not provide coverage for incidents or accidents occurring while engaged in business activities, such as carrying passengers for money.

Does that mean you are not covered if you take an Uber home from dinner and are injured in a crash? No. Uber provides up to $1 million in coverage for accidents involving Uber drivers carrying a paying passenger (and $100,000 in coverage if the Uber driver is online waiting to obtain a fare). The Uber driver’s personal policy would apply the rest of the time. Since Florida does not require drivers to carry any bodily injury coverage, and an estimated 23% of Florida Drivers have no insurance at all, you are actually statistically better off riding as a paying passenger in an Uber than driving your own vehicle.

While Uber and Lyft have done a good job in providing coverage for their paying passengers, nothing replaces having your own uninsured motorist coverage to protect you while you are in any vehicle.

What do you have to worry about? Being the Uber driver, or if your child is driving for Uber in your car to make extra money. Uber definitely takes care of their paying passengers; however, the drivers can be on their own when it comes to damage to their vehicle. Uber does not provide ANY coverage for property damage to their driver’s vehicle if there is no paying passenger in the car and will only cover collision damage when there is a passenger if the driver’s personal policy includes collision coverage. Even when property damage is covered, there is a deductible. For Uber it’s $1,000.00 and for Lyft’s it’s $2,500.00! If you are planning on earning a little extra money as a driver, you may want to look into a commercial policy for yourself, but if you’re planning to ride, you are good to go.

Treasure Coast Legal offers representation in a wide variety of practice areas and is the first place to call with your legal needs. Contact us today for more information by calling 772-283-2626 or visit us online at TreasureCoastLegal.com.