Rideshare cars are everywhere in Birmingham now. They wait outside pubs in Lakeview and Five Points South, shuttle people to and from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, and fill the curb outside Protective Stadium on game days. When one of them crashes, the coverage question gets more complicated than an ordinary wreck, because which coverage applies turns on the driver’s app status at that moment.
Alabama’s rideshare insurance law
Alabama regulates transportation network companies, the legal term for Uber, Lyft and similar services, in Title 32, Chapter 7C of the Code. Ala. Code § 32-7C-2 sets insurance requirements for drivers and companies. While a driver is engaged in a prearranged ride, the law requires primary automobile liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 combined for injury, death and property damage. That coverage can be carried by the driver, the company or a combination.
When the driver is logged into the app and waiting for a request but hasn’t accepted one, lower coverage requirements apply. With the app closed, the driver is back to being an ordinary motorist covered only by a personal policy. The statute spells out the phases, and the phase at the moment of the crash usually decides which policy is first in line.
Riding in the back seat
Riders tend to have the cleanest claim. You weren’t driving, so Alabama’s contributory negligence rule usually isn’t a problem for you. If your driver caused the crash, the rideshare coverage for an active trip should apply. If another driver caused it, you may have a claim against that driver’s insurer, and the rideshare policy may provide uninsured or underinsured coverage depending on its terms. Sometimes both drivers share fault, and claims go against both.
Screenshot the ride receipt and trip screen, with the driver, car, route and timestamps, before the app moves on. Report the crash through the app as well. Those details can disappear from your screen later.
Struck by a rideshare car
If you were in another car, on a bike or on foot and a rideshare driver hit you, the key question is whether the driver was on a trip, waiting for one or off the app. Rideshare drivers don’t always volunteer that. Look for stickers or signs in the windshield, and ask the officer to note it. Your lawyer or insurer may need to get the company to confirm the driver’s status. Alabama’s contributory negligence rule does apply to you in this situation, so the usual fault arguments will come up. See our fault rule guide.
If you were the rideshare driver
Drivers have a tougher road. Your own personal auto policy may exclude coverage while you’re working. The company’s coverage depends on your app status. For injuries to you caused by another driver, you’d usually make a claim against the at-fault driver, and the uninsured motorist coverage available through the rideshare policy or your own policy may matter. Rideshare drivers are generally treated as independent contractors, so workers’ compensation usually isn’t available. Read the insurance terms in your driver agreement carefully.
Late-night trips and impaired drivers
Many people take rideshares precisely because they’ve been drinking. That doesn’t affect their rights as passengers. If another driver was impaired and caused a crash, that may support a wantonness claim, which isn’t subject to the contributory negligence defense. Alabama also has a dram shop law that can, in some situations, make a business that illegally served an obviously intoxicated person responsible for the harm that follows.
The crash report
Inside Birmingham, BPD usually writes the report and charges $10. Crashes on the interstates may be worked by state troopers, who charge $15. At the airport, the responding agency may be different, so check the card you’re given. Our crash report guide walks through it.
Insurance companies you’ll hear from
After a rideshare crash, you may get calls from the rideshare company’s insurer, the driver’s personal insurer and the other driver’s insurer. Each will want a statement. You don’t have to give a taped statement right away. Ask for the claim number, the adjuster’s name and the insurer’s name, and write it all down.
Deadlines
The same Alabama deadlines apply to rideshare crashes as to any other. Most injury suits have to be filed no later than two years after the crash. See the deadline table.
If you have to turn to your own UM coverage
When a rideshare driver’s coverage is disputed or the at-fault driver has no usable liability policy, your own uninsured motorist coverage may be the backup. Ala. Code § 32-7-23 requires auto liability policies issued in Alabama to include that coverage unless the named insured has rejected it in writing. An insurer does not have to add it back on a renewal unless the named insured asks in writing, if the same insurer already has a written rejection. “Uninsured motor vehicle” in that section includes a vehicle with no bodily injury liability insurance, one with limits below the state minimum, one whose insurer becomes insolvent, and one whose available liability limits are less than the damages you are legally entitled to recover. Recovery under any one contract is limited to the primary coverage plus coverage on additional vehicles, but not more than two additional coverages in that contract. Our UM and UIM guide walks through those rules in more detail.
This is general information, not legal advice. Because rideshare cases involve multiple insurers and a statute with distinct phases, many people talk with a lawyer before accepting any offer. You can browse rideshare accident attorneys near Birmingham.