The short answer: In Florida, the insurance available after an Uber or Lyft crash depends almost entirely on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact. App off: only the driver’s personal policy applies. App on but waiting for a ride: the rideshare company must provide at least $50,000/$100,000 in bodily injury coverage and $25,000 in property damage. From the moment a ride is accepted until the passenger gets out: a $1 million liability policy applies. Your own PIP still pays your initial medical bills first, the 14-day treatment deadline still applies, and you still have two years to file suit. The difference between a $50,000 case and a $1 million case can literally come down to a screenshot of the driver’s app.
Rideshares are everywhere in Florida — downtown Pensacola on a Saturday night, Pensacola Beach in season, airport runs on I-110. When one of them crashes, the claim works differently than an ordinary wreck. Here’s what Florida law actually says.
Florida’s rideshare law: one statute, three coverage tiers
Since 2017, Uber, Lyft, and other “transportation network companies” (TNCs) have been governed statewide by Florida Statutes § 627.748. The statute ties insurance coverage to the driver’s app status, creating what lawyers call coverage “periods”:
- App off. The driver is just a private motorist. Only their personal auto policy applies — which in Florida can be as little as $10,000 PIP and $10,000 property damage, with no bodily injury liability required at all.
- App on, waiting for a request (“Period 1”). The TNC must ensure coverage of at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per crash for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage, plus PIP and uninsured motorist coverage.
- Ride accepted through passenger drop-off (“Periods 2–3”). From the moment the driver accepts a trip — even before the passenger is picked up — through the end of the ride, a $1 million primary liability policy must be in place, along with PIP and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
That tiered structure remains fully in effect in 2026 — a bill in this year’s legislative session that would have created a lower-coverage tier between acceptance and pickup died in committee, so the $1 million policy still applies for that entire span.
The trap: personal policies usually exclude rideshare driving
Here’s what surprises people. Florida law expressly allows personal auto insurers to exclude coverage while a driver is logged into a rideshare app. Most policies do exactly that. So a rideshare driver who assumes their personal insurance “has them covered” while working is usually wrong — and an injured victim who assumes the driver’s personal policy will pay is often chasing a denial.
The statute protects victims in two important ways: if the driver’s personal coverage has lapsed or doesn’t meet the requirements, the TNC’s insurer must cover the claim from the first dollar — and the TNC’s insurance cannot make you wait for the personal insurer to formally deny the claim first. In practice, though, multiple insurance companies still point fingers at each other, which is one reason these claims benefit from experienced handling.
Your PIP still comes first — and so does the 14-day rule
Florida’s no-fault system doesn’t disappear because an Uber is involved. If you’re injured — as a rideshare passenger, another driver, a cyclist, or a pedestrian — your own PIP (or a household relative’s) is still the first source for your initial medical bills, regardless of fault. That means the 14-day medical treatment deadline applies with full force: get evaluated within two weeks of the crash or risk forfeiting your PIP benefits. (Our guide to how Florida PIP works covers this in detail.)
For injuries serious enough to cross Florida’s threshold, you can then pursue the at-fault driver’s coverage — which, in an active-ride crash, means that $1 million policy.
Can you sue Uber or Lyft directly?
Usually not in the way people expect. Florida law treats rideshare drivers as independent contractors, not employees, which generally shields the companies themselves from ordinary vicarious liability. The practical recovery in most cases is the insurance the statute requires — which is exactly why the app-status question matters so much. In catastrophic cases, other theories against the company can sometimes come into play, but those are the exception, not the rule.
What to do after a rideshare crash in Florida
Everything in our step-by-step crash guide applies, plus a few rideshare-specific moves:
- Screenshot everything in the app — the trip screen, driver name, license plate, route, and receipt. This is the evidence that establishes which coverage period applies.
- Report the crash in the app (both Uber and Lyft have in-app crash reporting), but keep it factual and brief.
- Get the police report and make sure it notes the vehicle was operating as a rideshare.
- Don’t give recorded statements to any of the insurers — and in a rideshare crash there may be three or more circling — before speaking with an attorney.
- See a doctor within 14 days, even if you feel okay.
And remember the two deadlines running in the background: 14 days for PIP eligibility, and two years to file suit.
Frequently asked questions
I was a passenger in an Uber that crashed. Whose insurance pays my medical bills?
Your own PIP (or a resident relative’s) typically pays first under Florida’s no-fault system — up to $10,000, if you treat within 14 days. Because you were on an active ride, the TNC’s $1 million liability policy is available for serious injuries beyond that, whether your Uber driver or another motorist was at fault (UM coverage can apply if the other driver was uninsured).
Does the $1 million policy apply if the driver was on the way to pick someone up?
Yes. Under Florida law the $1 million coverage attaches the moment the driver accepts a ride request and continues until the passenger exits — it covers the pickup drive, not just the ride itself.
The rideshare driver’s app was on, but they hadn’t accepted a ride. What coverage applies?
That’s the middle tier: at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash in bodily injury coverage, plus $25,000 property damage. It’s far less than $1 million, which is why establishing the driver’s exact app status — through app data, trip records, and the companies’ own logs — is often the single most important fact in the case.
Dean & Camper Injury Lawyers handle Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare accident claims throughout Pensacola and Northwest Florida. We know how to pin down app-status evidence and make the right policy pay. Consultations are free, 24/7, and we charge no fee unless we win. This article is general information about Florida law as of 2026, not legal advice for your specific situation.