Uber and Lyft Accidents in Washington: Whose Insurance Applies?

Here is a hypothetical. A rider in Tacoma is on the way home when the car is hit at an intersection. The driver had the rideshare app open. Whose insurance is supposed to respond: the driver's, or the app company's?

Washington answers by the phase of the trip, not with one rule. This article walks through each phase based on the statute and notes what the statute does not decide. It is general education, not advice about one crash. Our personal injury practice page describes how the firm approaches these matters.

What Washington Calls a Rideshare Company

Washington's statutes do not use the word rideshare. The insurance rules refer to a "commercial transportation services provider" and to "commercial transportation services." The licensing chapter (RCW 46.72B.020) calls the same kind of company a "transportation network company."

RCW 48.177.005 defines the key terms. A provider uses a digital network or software application to connect passengers to drivers for a prearranged ride. A driver uses a personal vehicle to provide those services.

The insurance requirement itself is now in RCW 46.72B.180. It was formerly RCW 48.177.010 and was recodified in 2022. Older articles and policy forms may still cite the old number.

Coverage at a Glance

The diagram and table summarize the minimum coverage RCW 46.72B.180(1)(b) requires in each phase. They are statutory requirements. They do not describe any particular policy.

Phase 1: App On, No Ride Accepted

A driver who is logged in and waiting for a request is already providing commercial transportation services. The required commercial policy must be in force at that point.

The liability limits are lower than during a ride. They are $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $30,000 for property damage.

The statute also requires UIM and PIP coverage "to the extent required" by the general automobile insurance statutes. How those general rules work is covered in our PIP and UIM article.

Phase 2: Ride Accepted, Driver on the Way

When the driver accepts a requested ride, the requirement steps up. The policy must carry a combined single limit of $1,000,000 for death, personal injury, and property damage, plus PIP to the extent required.

This applies even before the passenger is picked up. A third party hurt by a rideshare car that is heading to a pickup would generally look to this liability coverage.

Phase 3: Passenger in the Vehicle

From the moment a passenger enters the vehicle until the passenger exits, the policy must also carry UIM coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. That sits on top of the $1,000,000 liability coverage and the PIP requirement.

UIM matters when a different driver caused the crash and that driver's liability coverage is too low. Hypothetically, a passenger is hurt when a driver in another car runs a red light. If that driver's limits are low, the rideshare vehicle's UIM coverage is one place to look.

Which coverage actually pays depends on the policy language and the facts. The general rules are in our PIP and UIM article, linked above.

When the Driver's Personal Policy Applies

A driver's private policy is the one most people think of first. For rideshare-period crashes, Washington lets insurers write it out.

Under RCW 46.72B.180(6), an insurer may exclude coverage under a private passenger policy for loss or injury while the driver is logged in or providing a prearranged ride. That can reach liability, PIP, UIM, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision coverage.

Subsection (7) adds that the section does not require a private passenger policy to provide primary or excess coverage, or a duty to defend, during that period. Subsection (13) separately bars an insurer from denying an otherwise covered claim from purely personal use solely because the insured used the car for rideshare at other times.

Which Policy Is First in Line

More than one policy can apply to one crash. Subsection (10) of the statute says how responsibility is divided when more than one policy provides valid and collectible coverage.

• If the driver has been matched with a passenger and is traveling to pick up the passenger, or is providing services to a passenger, the company that matched them must provide insurance coverage (subsection (10)(a)).
• If the driver is logged in to more than one company's app and has not been matched, liability is divided equally among the applicable policies that specifically cover commercial transportation services (subsection (10)(b)).
• If the driver's own required policy does not provide coverage for any reason, including a lapse or no policy, the company must provide the required coverage beginning with the first dollar of a claim (subsection (2)(b)).

The required policy can be bought by the company, by the driver, or by a combination of both (subsection (2)(c)). Only the insurers providing that coverage have the duty to defend a liability claim from an accident during commercial transportation services (subsection (3)).

Getting the App Records

Proof of timing matters. Subsection (11) requires the company or its insurer to cooperate with other insurers in a coverage investigation, including by providing the dates and times of the accident.

Within ten business days after a request, they must provide a copy of the electronic record showing when the driver logged on and off that day. They must also keep related data, communications, and documents for at least the applicable limitation periods plus two years from the accident.

The statute states this duty as running to the insurers involved. It does not describe a separate request process for an injured rider, so tell each insurer when the crash happened.

Insurance Is Not the Same as Fault

The statute decides which coverage must exist and who provides it. It does not decide who caused the crash. Fault is decided separately, and our article on Washington's pure comparative fault rule explains how shared blame is handled.

If a rideshare crash killed someone, a different set of claims applies. Our article on Washington wrongful death claims explains who may file and what those claims can include.

Deadlines and Next Steps

RCW 4.16.080(2) requires an action for injury to the person to be commenced within three years. That is the general rule. Other deadlines can apply, for example when a government vehicle is involved, so do not treat three years as the answer for every crash.

Policies can also set their own notice requirements, so check yours early.

To talk through a rideshare crash, visit our personal injury practice page or contact us. Nelson Allen Walk & Scott, PLLC is at 1103 Shaw Road, Puyallup, WA 98372, and the phone is (253) 845-8895.

Written by Nathan D. Sukhia, Of Counsel.