If you were hurt as an Uber or Lyft passenger in Atlanta, Georgia requires at least $1 million in coverage for your trip. That minimum applies from the moment the driver accepts the ride until it is complete (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24). You generally have two years from the crash to file an injury lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33).
Key Points
- From ride acceptance until the ride ends, Georgia requires at least $1 million per occurrence in rideshare coverage (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24(b)(3)).
- During that period, the policy must also include uninsured motorist coverage of at least $300,000 per accident, with up to $100,000 per person (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24).
- A passenger may be able to claim under the vehicle’s uninsured motorist coverage and under their own or a resident relative’s UM coverage (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11).
- If the insurance the driver keeps to meet these requirements lapses or ceases to exist, the rideshare company must provide the coverage, primary from the first dollar of a claim (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24(f)).
Who Pays When You’re Hurt as an Uber or Lyft Passenger?
The answer depends on which driver caused the crash. As a passenger, you were not controlling either vehicle. Your claim usually runs against whoever was driving carelessly.
If your Uber or Lyft driver caused the crash, the rideshare liability coverage is usually the main source of payment. During your trip, Georgia requires at least $1 million per occurrence.
If another driver caused the crash, that driver’s liability insurance is the first place to look. Georgia’s minimum is only $25,000 per person (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11; § 40-9-37). If that is not enough, the rideshare policy’s uninsured motorist coverage, and possibly your own, may help.
If both drivers share the blame, you may have claims against both. Sorting out multiple insurers is one reason passengers benefit from early legal help.
What Insurance Does Georgia Require for Uber and Lyft?
Georgia’s rideshare law, O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24, ties coverage to what the driver was doing in the app. The rideshare company must maintain, or make sure the driver maintains, a primary policy that meets these minimums.
- Logged in and waiting for a request: at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $50,000 for property damage.
- From accepting a ride until the ride is complete: at least $1 million per occurrence. Uninsured motorist coverage of at least $300,000 per accident, with up to $100,000 per person is also required.
The coverage may come from the rideshare company, the driver or a combination. Once you are in the car, the ride has been accepted, so the higher-coverage period applies. If a rideshare driver hit you while you were in another car or on foot, the app status matters more.
Rideshare UM limits dropped in 2023. For crashes on or after July 1, 2023, the required UM coverage during a ride is at least $300,000 per accident, with up to $100,000 per person, down from $1 million (HB 529). Read what the 2023 change means for passengers.
Georgia lets personal auto insurers exclude coverage while a driver is logged in to a rideshare app or giving a ride (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24(g)). That is why the rideshare policy is so important. Our Atlanta Uber and Lyft accident attorney page explains each period in more detail.
Why Rideshare Passenger Claims Get Complicated
A single rideshare crash can involve the rideshare policy, the driver’s personal policy, the other driver’s insurer and your own. Each adjuster may say another policy should pay first. Meanwhile, your medical bills keep arriving.
Trip data can help show which coverage applies. Georgia law requires the rideshare company to share key records with the driver’s personal insurer within 15 days of a request. Those records include the crash date and time and the driver’s log-on and log-off times for the 12 hours before and after the crash (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24(h)(4)).
Your own records matter too. Screenshots, photos and medical records made right after the crash can be hard for an insurer to dispute.
What Should I Do After an Uber or Lyft Crash?
- Get medical care. Tell the provider you were hurt in a rideshare crash.
- Call the police. Ask for the report number before you leave.
- Screenshot your trip. Save the driver’s name, vehicle, route, pickup time and receipt from your app.
- Photograph the scene. Capture every vehicle, plate and visible injury.
- Get names and insurance. Collect information from every driver and any witnesses.
- Report the crash in the app. Keep the report short and factual.
- Be careful with adjusters. Several insurers may call. Read our guide on calls from insurance adjusters first.
Don’t sign a release until you understand it. When you accept the full policy limits, Georgia allows a limited release that can preserve your UM claim (O.C.G.A. § 33-24-41.1). See our post on releases in Georgia injury settlements.
Does My Own Car Insurance Matter If I Wasn’t Driving?
It can. Georgia lets a passenger claim under their own uninsured motorist coverage, or a resident relative’s, in addition to the vehicle’s UM. This can matter when the at-fault driver carries too little insurance.
Georgia UM is usually “add-on” coverage. It pays on top of the at-fault driver’s liability limits, unless the policyholder chose the reduced option in writing (O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(D)(ii)).
Georgia allows drivers to reject UM in writing, so check your declarations page. Our guide to uninsured motorist coverage in Georgia explains how it works.
Your health insurance may pay medical bills while the claim is pending. See our guides on managing medical bills while you wait and hospital liens in Georgia.
What Can an Injured Rideshare Passenger Recover?
An injury claim can include medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. Our post on the types of damages available in Georgia explains each one.
Higher coverage does not mean an automatic payout. The insurer will still look at fault, medical records and gaps in treatment. See how a Georgia injury case is valued.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
Georgia generally allows two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). If a city, county or State vehicle was involved, notice deadlines are much shorter. Notice to a city is due within six months (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5).
Read more in how long you have to file a claim in Georgia.
When a Truck or Medical Transport Van Hits Your Uber or Lyft
Some rideshare crashes involve a commercial vehicle. For-hire interstate trucks of 10,001 pounds or more hauling nonhazardous property must carry at least $750,000 in coverage (49 C.F.R. § 387.9). See our Atlanta truck accident attorney page.
Medical transport vans are often run by transportation companies, which may carry commercial insurance. Those crashes can add more parties and more policies. Learn more on our medical transport van accident attorney page.
Who Flack Injury Law Represents
We represent people injured in crashes someone else caused, and families in wrongful death cases. Our focus is serious truck, rideshare and medical transport van crashes.
We don’t defend drivers who are sued, handle traffic tickets, or take coverage disputes with your own insurer over a crash you caused.
Talk Directly With Attorney Jonathan Flack
If you were hurt as an Uber or Lyft passenger, you work directly with attorney Jonathan Flack, in English or Spanish. Read about rideshare crashes in Spanish, or visit our Atlanta car accident attorney page.
There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you. Call or text (678) 653-0309. Calls are answered 24/7.
Frequently Asked Questions
Georgia law requires at least $1 million per occurrence from the time a driver accepts a ride until the ride is complete (O.C.G.A. § 33-1-24). That coverage may come from the rideshare company, the driver or a combination.
The at-fault driver’s liability insurance is the first source. If it is not enough, the rideshare policy’s uninsured motorist coverage may help. Your own UM coverage may help too.
Often, yes. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, a passenger may be able to claim under the vehicle’s UM coverage. A passenger may also be able to claim under their own or a resident relative’s UM, unless it was rejected in writing.
You generally have two years from the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). Claims involving a city, county or State vehicle have much shorter notice deadlines.
Take screenshots of the trip details, including the driver’s name, vehicle, route, pickup time and receipt. This helps show the ride was active, which affects which coverage applies.
This article is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice. Contacting Flack Injury Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.
This article is general information about Georgia law, not legal advice for any specific situation. Laws change and outcomes depend on facts particular to each case. Reading this page or contacting Flack Injury Law through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not send confidential information until an attorney-client relationship has been established.