New York Uber, Lyft and Rideshare Accident Lawyer

Which insurance applies after a rideshare crash in New York

In an Uber or Lyft case the available coverage turns on two facts: what the driver’s app showed at the moment of impact, and where the trip began. For trips that start outside New York City, VTL § 1693 sets a different insurance floor for each period of app activity.

• App off The driver is a private motorist at that moment, and only their personal auto policy responds.
• Logged in and waiting for a request The statute requires at least $75,000 per person and $150,000 per crash in bodily injury coverage, plus $25,000 for property damage.
• En route to a pickup or carrying a passenger The floor rises to $1.25 million in liability coverage. The same section requires $1.25 million in supplementary uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which becomes the operative fund when the crash was caused by a driver with minimal insurance or one who left the scene.

The app period is established from trip records, and requesting them early is part of building the case. Our guide to rideshare passenger coverage walks through how the policies interact in a specific crash.

Trips that begin in New York City follow TLC rules

The statewide article does not reach the five boroughs: VTL § 1692 provides that none of it applies in a city of one million or more. A trip that begins in New York City is regulated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission instead, so Uber and Lyft drivers here hold TLC licenses and drive vehicles insured as for-hire vehicles.

For a for-hire vehicle seating up to seven passengers, the TLC’s insurance requirements set these minimums:

• $100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash in liability coverage The fund a claim is paid from when the for-hire driver is at fault, before any further layer of coverage is reached.
• $100,000 in no-fault coverage Double the $50,000 basic no-fault on a private New York policy. This pays medical bills and part of lost earnings first, regardless of fault, under Insurance Law § 5103.

Which policies were actually in force on a given trip is confirmed during the case rather than assumed. Companies and their bases layer coverage differently, and the difference decides which insurer the claim is presented to.

Who can bring a claim after a rideshare crash

Rideshare crashes injure four groups of people, and each has its own route to compensation.

• Passengers A passenger controls neither vehicle, so the fault dispute between the drivers does not reduce the claim. It proceeds against whichever driver is found responsible, backed by the coverage described above.
• People in the other vehicle Occupants of a car struck by a rideshare driver claim against the coverage active for that driver’s app period at the moment of the crash.
• Pedestrians and cyclists A person struck by a rideshare vehicle claims no-fault benefits from that vehicle’s insurer, not from any policy of their own, and can bring a liability claim for injuries beyond the no-fault limits.
• The rideshare driver In New York City, drivers dispatched through member bases are covered by the Black Car Fund, which pays workers compensation benefits for on-the-job injuries: medical care and wage replacement under the state schedule. Compensation from the fund does not bar a liability claim against the motorist who caused the crash.

What to do in the first days after a rideshare crash

1. See a doctor the same day or the next. The first entry in the medical record ties the injury to the crash. A delayed first visit is the argument insurers raise most often.
2. Report the crash in the app and to the police. The in-app report creates a record with the company, and the police report fixes the parties, the location and the vehicles. Both are requested later as evidence.
3. Save the trip details. Screenshot the receipt, the route map and the driver’s name and plate. They establish the trip and the app period without a dispute.
4. Apply for no-fault benefits within 30 days. The application goes to the insurer of the vehicle you were in, or of the one that struck you. This is the shortest deadline in the case and the one missed most often.
5. Take advice before giving a recorded statement. Several insurers may call, each covering a different party. An early recorded statement, given before the injuries are fully diagnosed, is quoted against the claim later.

A fuller version of these steps is in our guide on what to do if your Uber crashes.

For-hire vehicles in New York City, by the numbers

The for-hire fleet is a large share of the traffic behind those figures. The TLC register of active for-hire vehicle licenses lists more than 104,000 vehicles as of July 2026, with Uber’s dispatch base alone accounting for more than 80,000 of them. Crashes involving these vehicles follow the coverage rules described above, whichever borough they happen in.

A for-hire passenger case from our results

Ikhilov & Associates secured a $3,300,000 settlement for a passenger injured when the taxi she was riding in ran a red light in Yonkers and was struck by another vehicle, causing a shoulder injury and a cervical spine injury that required surgery. A passenger in a for-hire vehicle claims against commercial coverage, which is the position Uber and Lyft passengers are in as well. More on the case results page.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is evaluated on its own facts.