What Happens when Injured in a Taxi/Uber Car Accident?

Injured While in a Taxi or Ridesharing Vehicle

Being in a car accident while driving your own car can be pretty stressful but you know you have insurance that should cover most of the costs, including medical bills, property damage and more. However, what happens if you are injured while in someone else’s vehicle, such as a taxi or an Uber?

Car Insurance Requirements:

Uber requires all of their drivers to have some sort of car insurance while driving. The way this particular system works is that the company, Uber, provides supplemental insurance coverage. Originally the supplemental insurance coverage, in this instance, means that Uber provides insurance while the driver has the Uber app on, but has since expanded to include the entire “shift” of the driver. Uber’s verison of insurance is a low level of liability insurance. This insurance also is mostly in place to be a secondary protection on top of the driver’s primary car insurance.

As far as taxi driver’s insurance, the larger taxi companies will take care of the insurance costs because it is their car and they are leasing it to you for your job. Other companies will require taxi driver’s to carry their insurance, for general liability.

Car Accident Injuries:

When a ride-sharing vehicle or taxi service is involved in an accident the passenger is automatically not at fault, unless they were distracting the driver in some way. A few years ago the driver could have to use their own insurance for Uber, but now Uber has a certain amount of coverage that will include passengers injuries as well. Taxi’s on the other hand, could have their personal insurance used if they are considered an independent contractor. Either way, the driver’s are suppose to report the accident to their primary insurance company, their employer and explain the process to you, the passenger.