In the above scenario, as I have explained in other blogs, the recourse available is to sue the other driver (and owner of car if different) but oftentimes people without bodily injury insurance on their vehicles are not worth suing. Thus, the question in this case becomes: is there available uninsured motorist insurance?
As of the time of the writing of this blog, both Uber and Lyft carry uninsured motorist coverage for their drivers AND THE OCCUPANTS (CUSTOMERS) of the car. Generally, these policies have $1,000,000 of uninsured motorist coverage if their is a passenger in the car or if the driver is on the way to pick up a passenger in the car and $50,000 of uninsured motorist coverage if they have the application on and are waiting for the application to give them a new customer. Of course, the policy rules could change with any policy renewal and the exact coverage is dependent on the wording of the policy and potentially the interpretation of the policy. Thus, in the above scenario, the passenger (customer) of the Uber (or Lyft) who was injured would have a case against the uninsured motorist policy carried by the ride sharing company’s policy of insurance for his or her injuries. It doesn’t mean that the passenger (customer) would get $1,000,000 but there would be $1,000,000 of coverage to collect against and the person could recover for their injuries, up to $1,000,000.
The above blog is limited to accidents in Florida by driver that are driving for the ride sharing company in Florida. Every case is different and needs to be evaluated on a case by case basis.
