Rideshare Driver Injury Claims: When Uber and Lyft Drivers Get Hurt

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Which insurance pays for a rideshare driver’s crash in Georgia depends on what the driver’s app was doing at the moment of impact. Georgia’s statute on rideshare insurance, which calls the platform a “transportation network company,” divides a driver’s working time into two periods, prescribes coverage for each, lets the driver’s own auto insurer exclude that time, and requires the company to warn the driver about those exclusions in writing.

The Periods the Statute Defines

“Transportation network company services” covers two periods. The first is “[t]he period of time a driver is logged on to the transportation network company’s digital network and available to accept a ride request until the driver is logged off, except for that time period described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.” The second is “[t]he period of time a driver accepts a ride request on the transportation network company’s digital network until the driver completes the transaction or the ride is complete, whichever is later” (OCGA 33-1-24(a)(5)). Time when the driver is logged off falls outside both periods. The statute also makes clear that a driver does not have to be the company’s employee (OCGA 33-1-24(a)(4)).

The Coverage Required for Each Period

The company “shall maintain or cause to be maintained” a primary motor vehicle policy that recognizes the driver as a rideshare driver and explicitly covers those services (OCGA 33-1-24(b)(1)). While the driver is logged on and waiting, the policy must provide at least $100,000 for bodily injury or death of all persons in one accident, with a $50,000 maximum for any one person, and $50,000 for damage to others’ property, excluding cargo (OCGA 33-1-24(b)(2)). Once a ride is accepted, it must provide at least $1 million per occurrence for death, personal injury, and property damage, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as required by OCGA 33-7-11, with minimum limits of $300,000 for all persons in one accident, $100,000 for one person, and $25,000 for property damage (OCGA 33-1-24(b)(3)).

The requirement can be met in more than one way: by a commercial policy bought by the company or by the driver, or by a rider, endorsement, or express provision in the driver’s personal policy, which may be combined with an excess policy from the company (OCGA 33-1-24(c)).

What the Driver’s Own Insurer May Exclude

Nothing in the statute requires a personal auto policy “to provide primary or excess coverage for transportation network company services” (OCGA 33-1-24(g)(1)). Insurers “may exclude any and all coverage afforded under the owner’s insurance policy for any loss or injury that occurs while a driver is logged on to a transportation network company’s digital network or while a driver provides transportation network company services” (OCGA 33-1-24(g)(2)).

The company must tell the driver so. Its disclosure must give notice that the personal policy “may exclude any and all coverage for injuries to the driver and to others” and “may exclude coverage for damage to the personal vehicle, medical payments coverage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and other first-party claims,” and the disclosures must appear in the driver’s terms of service in a distinctive clause (OCGA 33-1-24(h)(1), (3)).

Workers’ Compensation and Classification

For workers’ compensation, an employee is any person serving another under a contract of hire or apprenticeship, written or implied, with stated exceptions, and the definition adds: “A person shall be an independent contractor and not an employee if such person has a written contract as an independent contractor and if such person buys a product and resells it, receiving no other compensation, or provides an agricultural service or such person otherwise qualifies as an independent contractor” (OCGA 34-9-1(2)). Whether a particular driver fits either category turns on the facts of the driver’s relationship with the company.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a driver buy personal coverage that includes rideshare driving?
A personal auto insurer may, at its discretion, offer a policy, amendment, or endorsement that covers the vehicle during rideshare use, with or without a separate charge (OCGA 33-1-24(g)(2)).

What if the driver’s own rideshare coverage lapsed?
Where the driver’s insurance meant to meet the requirements “has lapsed or ceases to exist, then the transportation network company shall provide coverage which shall become primary beginning with the first dollar of a claim” (OCGA 33-1-24(f)).

What records must the company give the driver’s insurer after a crash?
On the personal insurer’s request, within 15 days, the date and time of the accident and the precise times in the 12 hours before and after it that the driver logged on and off. Coverage under the company’s policy “shall not be dependent on a personal vehicle insurer first denying a claim” (OCGA 33-1-24(h)(4)).

Who handles the defense when the company’s policy is primary?
The company’s insurer “shall assume the costs of defense and indemnification,” and the company must notify the driver and the driver’s insurer of any dispute over primary coverage within 25 business days of receiving notice of the accident (OCGA 33-1-24(i)).

Does a driver with a car loan need to tell the lender?
The company’s terms of service must tell the driver to notify any lienholder of the rideshare use, and warn that providing the services may violate the terms of the driver’s contract with the lienholder (OCGA 33-1-24(h)(2)).

  • OCGA 33-1-24(a), (b), (c), (f), (g), (h), (i)
  • OCGA 34-9-1(2)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about injury claims by rideshare drivers under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Which insurance applies depends on the driver’s status at the time of the crash, the policies in force, and the specific facts. A rideshare driver injured in a crash should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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