Rideshare insurance for the time the app is on.
A rideshare endorsement or policy for drivers who use their own car on Uber or Lyft, shopped to cover the time your personal policy leaves out once you log on.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed October 2026 · How this page is researched
Three periods, three sets of rules
Regulators split rideshare driving into three periods: the app is open and you’re waiting for a match (period 1), you’ve accepted a ride and are on your way to the passenger (period 2), and the passenger is in the car until they get out (period 3). Once the app is on, most personal policies don’t cover rideshare driving in their standard form, and in California the law says your personal policy provides no coverage from the moment you log on until you log off or the passenger gets out, whichever is later, unless the policy expressly covers that time or carries an endorsement for it.
California’s required limits are highest once a ride is accepted. In period 1 they’re much lower, and nothing in the law requires the company to pay for damage to your own car in any period. That’s the gap a rideshare endorsement is built for: insurers often offer it on a personal auto policy for an additional premium. I check what your current policy says about app time, then shop endorsements and policies that cover it.
- Period 1: app on, waiting or between ridesPrimary liability of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and injury and $30,000 for property damage, carried by you, the company or both (the company’s applies if you don’t carry it), plus at least $200,000 per occurrence in excess coverage the company maintains.
- Periods 2 and 3: ride accepted to drop-off$1,000,000 in primary liability for death, personal injury and property damage, which the company, the driver or both can carry.
- Passenger in the carUninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, carried by the company alone (since January 1, 2026).
- Your own carNot required. The company must tell you in writing that your personal policy won’t provide collision or comprehensive while you’re logged on.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Drivers: everyone in your household who drives, with dates of birth.
- Vehicles: year, make, model and VIN of the car you drive for the app, and whether it’s owned, financed or leased.
- Apps: which ones you drive for, rideshare, delivery or both.
- Hours: roughly how many hours a week you’re logged on.
- Current policy: your auto declarations page.
- Record: accidents or tickets in the last five years, and the date you want coverage to start.
Rideshare insurance, answered
What is period 1 in rideshare insurance?
Period 1 is the time the app is open and you’re waiting for a match, or between rides. In California the app company’s required limits are lowest then, $50,000/$100,000/$30,000 primary plus a $200,000 excess layer, and your personal policy covers nothing unless it expressly includes app time or is endorsed for it.
Do I need to tell my insurance company I drive for Uber or Lyft?
Yes. Most personal auto policies don’t cover rideshare driving in their standard form, though insurers often make it available for an additional premium. The Texas Department of Insurance warns that if you don’t tell your insurer about business driving, it could deny your claims.
Does Uber’s or Lyft’s insurance pay to fix my car?
California’s rideshare law doesn’t require the company to provide collision or comprehensive, and the company must tell you in writing that your personal policy won’t cover damage to your car while you’re logged on. Some rideshare products keep collision and comprehensive in force during period 1, so ask before you buy.
Does a rideshare endorsement cover DoorDash or Uber Eats?
Only if it says so. In California, delivery apps fall under Proposition 22, which requires the delivery company to maintain at least $1,000,000 per occurrence in auto liability for injuries or losses to others from accepting a delivery to completing it, and only when your car isn’t otherwise covered by a qualifying auto policy. It doesn’t pay for damage to your own car. Ask whether your endorsement names delivery as well as rideshare.
How much insurance does California require during a ride?
$1,000,000 in primary liability from the moment you accept a ride until it’s complete, which the company, you or both can carry. Since January 1, 2026, the company alone must also provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident while the passenger is in the car.
Do you offer rideshare insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in 48 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. In Florida and Washington, where Sam's licenses are still being issued, a partner agency in your state helps in the meantime. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- California Public Utilities Code 5433: transportation network company insurance (as amended by SB 371, effective January 1, 2026)
- California Public Utilities Code 5434: personal auto policies while the app is on
- California Public Utilities Code 5432: required disclosures to drivers
- California Public Utilities Code 5431: definitions (personal vehicle, not a taxicab or limousine)
- California Public Utilities Code 5442: proof of insurance while driving
- California Public Utilities Code 5391: charter-party carrier (black car) liability insurance
- California SB 371 (2025), Chapter 314: transportation network company uninsured motorist coverage
- California Business and Professions Code 7455 (Proposition 22): delivery company liability insurance
- California Business and Professions Code 7463 (Proposition 22): engaged time
- California Public Utilities Commission: TNC insurance requirements (period definitions)
- California Department of Insurance: notice to transportation network company drivers
- California Department of Insurance: ride-share insurance law takes effect (July 1, 2015)
- California Department of Insurance: period 1 rideshare product approved (January 19, 2016)
- California Department of Insurance: rideshare product keeping optional coverages in period 1 (January 21, 2016)
- Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance: ridesharing drivers should check insurance coverage for gap
- Texas Department of Insurance: delivering packages, what to know about auto insurance
- North Dakota Insurance Department: delivery drivers urged to review auto insurance
- NAIC: Sharing a ride is not sharing insurance
Send your declarations page. I’ll check your app time.
Your drivers, the car you drive for the app and which apps you use are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.
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(877) 711-4545Answered 24/7 · CA License #4348151
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