Injured in an Uber Ride? Can You Collect under Your Insurance Policy?

Injured While Using an Uber Driver? Your Rights to Recover under an Insurance Policy

You may have considered using Uber when you need a lift somewhere. Uber offers a personal taxicab service (though Uber technically refers to it as “ridesharing”)in many municipalities across the nation. Most Uber drivers, however, are not driving a taxi for a living, but use Uber to supplement income from other jobs. You may have concerns about your rights if you are injured in an accident during an Uber ride. Will you be able to recover compensation under the driver’s policy? What if the accident is the fault of another motorist who lacks adequate insurance?

What Type of Insurance Did the Driver Have?

If you are injured while paying for a ride through Uber, the driver’s personal motor vehicle insurance policy will likely not pay any claims, unless the driver personally took out a “commercial drivers policy.” Since driving for Uber is considered driving for hire, most insurers consider Uber driving to fall outside the scope of a personal motor vehicle insurance policy.

According to its website, though, Uber offers $1 million in coverage for driver liability from “the time a driver accepts a trip request…until the completion of the ride.” Though most information on the Uber website appears in the form of blog posts, the site repeatedly states that Uber has insurance in place to cover “every ridesharing trip on the Uber platform throughout the U.S.” The company also contends that it has a policy of insurance for underinsured/uninsured motorists, providing potential coverage up to $1 million.

However, a copy of Uber’s insurance policy was leaked to the press earlier this year. According to some, it contains many exclusions. Furthermore, insurance authorities have stated that in many of the actual claims filed thus far against Uber, the company has attempted to shift the coverage and responsibility to the driver’s personal insurance carrier.

Contact Attorney Howard D. Popper

To learn your options when you have suffered a personal injury, contact our office online or call attorney Popper at 973-993-8787. We have offices in Morristown and Newton, but will come to your home or the hospital, if necessary. There is no charge for your first consultation.

We handle all personal injury claims on a contingency basis. You won’t be charged any legal fees unless attorney Popper recovers compensation for your losses.