Uber and Lyft accident lawyers for New Jersey and New York

Uber and Lyft have changed how people get around New Jersey and New York. They have also made car accident claims more complicated. When a rideshare car crashes, the first question is not only who caused it. It is also what the driver was doing on the app at that moment.

The insurance available can range from a driver’s basic personal policy to more than a million dollars in coverage, depending on that answer. New Jersey, New York State and New York City each have their own rules. This page explains them so you know where to start.

Why app status decides which insurance applies

Rideshare drivers usually use their own cars. Most personal auto policies were not written for commercial driving, and the law in both states lets personal insurers exclude coverage while a driver is logged on to a rideshare app or giving a ride.^{3 8} To fill that gap, both states require special coverage that depends on the driver’s status.

• App off. The driver is not working. The rideshare insurance rules do not apply, and the driver’s personal auto policy is usually the main source of coverage.
• Logged on and waiting. The driver is available for ride requests but has not accepted one. A lower level of required coverage applies.
• Ride accepted through drop-off. Under New Jersey law and New York’s state rideshare law, a prearranged ride or trip begins when the driver accepts the request and ends when the last passenger leaves the vehicle.^{1 6} The highest required coverage applies during this whole period, including the drive to pick you up.

In the table below, UM/UIM means uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which can pay when the driver who caused a crash has little or no insurance. SUM is New York’s supplementary version of that coverage.

Sources for this table are N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10 and N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 1693.^{2 7}

Rideshare insurance in New Jersey

New Jersey regulates Uber, Lyft and similar companies under the Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act.¹ The insurance must be primary, meaning it pays before other coverage, and it can be provided by the driver, the company, or a combination of the two.²

While the driver is logged on and waiting

While a driver is logged on and available for requests, but is not giving a ride, the law requires at least $50,000 for death or bodily injury per person, $100,000 per incident and $25,000 for property damage. It also requires primary personal injury protection, or PIP, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to the extent New Jersey law requires it.²

From accepting a ride until drop-off

Once a driver accepts a ride, the law requires at least $1,500,000 in liability coverage for death, bodily injury and property damage. It also requires at least $1,500,000 in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which can matter when another driver who caused the crash has little or no insurance. The law requires medical payments coverage of at least $10,000 per person per incident, but that coverage is only for the rideshare driver.²

Protections when coverage breaks down

If the driver’s coverage has lapsed or does not provide what the law requires, the company’s insurance must provide the required coverage starting with the first dollar of the claim, and the company has a duty to defend the claim. The company’s coverage cannot be made to wait for the driver’s personal insurer to deny the claim first.²

Rideshare insurance in New York outside New York City

Outside New York City, rideshare companies are governed by Article 44-B of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. The coverage can come from the driver’s insurance, a group policy maintained by the company, or both.⁷ Insurance Law § 3455 sets the rules for those company group policies.⁹

While a driver is logged on but not on a trip, the law requires at least $75,000 per person and $150,000 per accident for bodily injury or death, and $25,000 for property damage. During a trip, it requires at least $1,250,000 for bodily injury, death and property damage, plus $1,250,000 in SUM coverage. In both periods the coverage must also meet the financial responsibility requirements of New York’s no-fault law.⁷

New York’s no-fault law also lets the insurer that wrote the owner’s personal policy exclude no-fault coverage when the car is being operated by a rideshare driver under Article 44-B.¹⁰ That is one reason the company’s coverage matters so much.

Rideshare insurance in New York City

New York’s state rideshare law says that nothing in it applies to cities with a population of one million or more.⁶ In New York City, app-based rides are given in vehicles licensed by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) as for-hire vehicles, and different insurance rules apply.

The TLC’s vehicle insurance chart, updated March 3, 2026, requires livery vehicles and black cars that seat one to seven passengers to carry at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence in liability coverage, $10,000 in property damage coverage and $100,000 in personal injury protection.¹² Larger vehicles have higher requirements.

Who pays your medical bills depends on your role

Your role in the crash affects which coverage pays first and whether a lawsuit threshold applies.

Passengers

In New Jersey, household PIP coverage is not automatic for a rideshare passenger. During a prearranged ride, the law excludes the rideshare vehicle from the No-Fault Act’s definition of an automobile.¹ A lawyer should review your policy for any broader coverage and check health insurance and other sources of payment. The rideshare law requires at least $10,000 in medical payments coverage for the driver, but does not require that benefit for passengers.² Our New Jersey PIP guide explains how PIP works.

In New York, no-fault benefits for someone riding in a vehicle generally come from the policy covering that vehicle.¹⁰ Your written no-fault application must reach the insurer within 30 days of the accident.¹³ Our New York no-fault guide covers the forms.

Rideshare drivers

If you drive for Uber or Lyft and were hurt, your personal auto insurer may refuse coverage because you were logged on.^{3 8} In New Jersey, the coverage required while you are waiting for requests includes PIP, and the coverage required during a ride includes at least $10,000 in medical payments coverage for the driver.² Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may also apply if another driver caused the crash. Our uninsured and underinsured motorist page explains those claims.

Pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers

If a rideshare car hit you while you were walking, biking or driving your own car, your first medical bills are usually handled the same way as in any other car crash. In New Jersey that usually means your own or a household PIP policy. In New York, which policy pays depends on the circumstances. Your claim for losses beyond PIP or no-fault is made against the rideshare driver’s coverage, and the amount available depends on the driver’s app status at the time.

When lawsuit thresholds apply

New Jersey has a specific exception for prearranged rides. The rideshare company and its driver cannot use the verbal threshold, the limitation on lawsuit option, to limit a claim arising from an accepted ride.⁵² The law also prevents the threshold from being asserted against a party who is not receiving PIP benefits in such a claim.² The period starts when the driver accepts the request and ends when the last passenger gets out.¹ In New York, a covered person suing another covered person must prove a serious injury to recover for pain and suffering.¹¹ Our car accidents page explains both thresholds and New York’s 2026 changes.

Evidence in a rideshare case

Rideshare cases come with an unusual amount of digital evidence. The key is getting it before it becomes harder to obtain.

• App status records. In New Jersey, the company must immediately provide, upon request, the precise times the driver logged on and off in the 12 hours before and after the crash.³ In New York outside the city, the company and insurers must help exchange that same log-on and log-off information within 15 days after a claim is filed.⁸
• Trip records and receipts. New Jersey requires an electronic receipt within 48 hours after a ride that shows where it started and ended, how long it took and how far it went.⁴
• Driver and vehicle identification. New Jersey requires the app to show a rider the driver’s picture and license plate number before the rider gets in.⁴ Take a screenshot.
• Photos, video and witnesses. Photograph the scene and your injuries, get witness names, and look for cameras on nearby businesses and buses.
• The police report. It records the vehicles, the drivers and their insurance information.

Terms of service and arbitration

When you sign up for Uber or Lyft, you accept the company’s terms of service, which include arbitration provisions. The companies have tried to use those provisions to move injury claims out of court and into private arbitration. Whether an arbitration clause applies to your claim depends on who you are suing (the rideshare driver, another driver, or the company itself), what you agreed to, and the current case law.

Do not assume the clause controls your whole case, and do not ignore it either. Have a lawyer review any arbitration demand or notice before you respond.

Deadlines and damages

In New Jersey, a personal injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years, and in New York, generally within three years.¹⁴ The New York no-fault application is due within 30 days of the accident.¹³ Our statute of limitations guide covers the exceptions.

Depending on the facts and the thresholds, damages can include medical expenses beyond what PIP or no-fault pays, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, scarring, a spouse’s claim for loss of companionship, and property damage.

How Parra Klein handles rideshare accident cases

Parra Klein, LLC represents passengers, drivers, pedestrians and other motorists hurt in rideshare crashes in New Jersey and New York. Our work on these cases usually includes the following.

• Determining the driver’s app status at the time of the crash and requesting log-on records, trip data and receipts
• Identifying every policy that may apply, including the rideshare company’s coverage, the driver’s personal policy, your own PIP or no-fault, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
• Working out whether New Jersey, New York State or New York City TLC rules apply, especially for trips that cross the Hudson
• Helping you open your PIP or no-fault claim on time and dealing with the carriers involved
• Reviewing terms of service and responding to any attempt to compel arbitration
• Working with your treating doctors and preparing each case for trial from the start

Our attorneys Arlene M. Parra, Brian A. Klein and Juan Carlos Reyes are each admitted in New Jersey and New York. Arlene Parra and Juan Carlos Reyes are fluent in Spanish, and we serve clients in Spanish (se habla español).

We have offices in Elmwood Park and Union City, New Jersey, and in Manhattan, and we offer remote consultations. Consultations are free, and there is no attorney’s fee unless we recover money for you.