Delaware’s rideshare law sets its own uninsured motorist floors: $100,000 while drivers wait and $1 million from acceptance
Delaware’s rideshare rules are in Title 2, chapter 19 of the Delaware Code, “Transportation Networks” (2 Del. C. 1901 to 1922). While a driver is logged on and available, the floor is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance of at least $100,000 per incident. Once the driver accepts a ride, it is $1,000,000, plus uninsured and underinsured coverage of at least $1,000,000 per incident.
Personal injury protection applies where Delaware’s PIP law, 21 Del. C. 2118, requires it.
Statute text as of October 13, 2026, from the Delaware Code published by the General Assembly: 2 Del. C. chapter 19.
Delaware & the Northeast
The $1 million period starts at acceptance and ends when the last rider departs
A prearranged ride begins “when a TNC driver accepts a ride requested by a rider” and ends “when the last rider departs from the personal vehicle.” 2 Del. C. 1901(3). The drive to the pickup is inside the $1,000,000 period.
| App status | Statute | Liability required | PIP | Uninsured and underinsured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| App off | Personal policy, 21 Del. C. 2902, 2118 | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $10,000 property damage | $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident | Uninsured coverage unless rejected in writing (18 Del. C. 3902) |
| Logged on and available, no ride accepted | 2 Del. C. 1908(2) | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, $25,000 property damage, primary | Minimums “where required by § 2118” | At least $100,000 per incident |
| Accepted, driving to the pickup | 1908(3); 1901(3) | $1,000,000 primary | Minimum amounts “where required by § 2118 of Title 21 and § 3902 of Title 18” | At least $1,000,000 per incident |
| Rider in the car | 1908(3) | $1,000,000 primary | Same | Same |
| Last rider departed, still logged on | Back to 1908(2) | $50,000, $100,000, and $25,000 | Same as waiting | At least $100,000 per incident |
The table above is the statute. It is not an Uber certificate and it is not a Lyft certificate. Those certificates are in the sections below, with their own policy periods and printed figures. A dollar in this table is a statutory floor. A dollar in a certificate table is a figure that form printed.
If the driver’s coverage lapses or falls short, the company’s insurance pays from the first dollar
The driver, the company, or a combination may carry the coverage. 1908(2)d., (3)d. If the driver’s insurance “has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage,” the company’s insurance provides the coverage required by paragraph (3) “beginning with the first dollar of a claim,” with a duty to defend. 1908(4). The company’s coverage may not depend on a personal insurer first denying the claim. 1908(5).
The driver must carry proof of coverage and, after an accident, provide it and say whether they were logged on or on a ride. 1908(8). In a claims investigation, the company must provide the driver’s log-on and log-off times for the 12 hours before and after the accident. 1910(c).
Whether Uber or Lyft is liable for a driver’s negligence beyond its insurance is unsettled.
A personal policy may exclude everything while the app is on, including PIP
Insurers writing auto insurance in Delaware “may exclude any and all coverage” on a personal policy for loss or injury while the driver is logged on or providing a prearranged ride, including liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motorist, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision. 2 Del. C. 1910(a).
Uninsured and underinsured coverage is required by dollar amount in both periods
The rideshare law requires “Uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance in the minimum amount of $100,000 per incident” while the driver waits, and “in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per incident” during a prearranged ride. 1908(2)c., (3)c.
On an ordinary policy, uninsured coverage must be included unless rejected in writing, and insurers must offer additional coverage that includes underinsured coverage. 18 Del. C. 3902. 18 Del. C. 3902.
Whether a rideshare policy could reject or reduce this coverage under 3902 despite 1908’s minimums, and how “per incident” applies to individual claims, is unsettled. Neither company certificate shows a written rejection of coverage.
Uber prints uninsured coverage matching the statute: $100,000 and $1 million
Policy period printed on Uber’s Delaware certificates: March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. The insurer is Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation, NAIC 10725. The table below is that certificate. It is not the statutory table above. Uber certificate PDF.
| What the form describes | Policy | Liability printed | Uninsured and underinsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Available, no request accepted | ASE-665-067247-736 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | $100,000 per accident |
| Acceptance through the trip | ASE-665-067247-746 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $1,000,000 per accident |
| Physical damage | ASE-665-067247-746 | Comprehensive and collision, $2,500 deductibles | Not applicable |
Uber’s certificate does not mention PIP and does not print a PIP dollar. That missing line establishes only that this form does not state a PIP amount. It does not establish the statutory floor, and it does not establish that the policy pays nothing. The statutory minimum is in the PIP section, from 21 Del. C. 2118(a)(2), not on this certificate.
Lyft prints $1 million uninsured coverage for Periods 2 and 3, but no Period 3 liability figure
Policy period printed on Lyft certificate SEA-004219061-07: October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027. The insurer is Mobilitas Insurance Company, NAIC 16392. The table below is that certificate. It is not the statutory table above. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Policy | Period printed | Limit printed | Uninsured and underinsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEBA1T6624548270 | Period 1 | $50,000 / $100,000 bodily injury, $25,000 property damage | $100,000 |
| DEBA2T6624548270 | Period 2 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $1,000,000 |
| DEBA3T6624548270 | Period 3 | Only a $2,500 physical damage deductible | $1,000,000 |
The certificate prints no liability figure for Period 3. A missing printed liability cell establishes that this form does not state a liability dollar for that row. It does not establish the $1,000,000 floor in 1908(3), and it does not establish that the policy pays nothing. This page does not fill the cell in from the statute. The statutory floors stay in the table above. The certificate says its auto liability policies “include Personal Injury Protection” but prints no amount. That missing amount establishes only that the certificate does not print a PIP dollar. The statutory minimum is in the PIP section, from 21 Del. C. 2118(a)(2).
Delaware PIP pays at least $15,000 per person, and PIP-paid damages cannot be claimed again
Delaware vehicle owners must carry personal injury protection of at least $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, covering reasonable and necessary expenses incurred within 2 years of the accident. 21 Del. C. 2118(a)(2). 21 Del. C. 2118.
A person eligible for PIP may not plead or introduce in a lawsuit against the at-fault driver the damages PIP compensates. 2118(h).
Do not count a PIP-paid damage twice. Section 2118(h) bars pleading or introducing that damage again in a lawsuit against the at-fault driver. It does not print a second recovery for the same bill.
Whether “where required by § 2118” limits rideshare PIP to Delaware-registered vehicles is unsettled.
You recover if 50 percent or less at fault, and you have two years
Your negligence does not bar recovery if it “was not greater than” the negligence of the defendant or all defendants combined; damages are reduced in proportion. 10 Del. C. 8132. At 51 percent you recover nothing. 10 Del. C. 8132.
Contribution exists among joint tortfeasors, and relative fault sets shares when fault is disproportionate. 10 Del. C. 6302. 10 Del. C. chapter 63.
- Injury: 2 years from the date the injuries were sustained. 10 Del. C. 8119.
- Wrongful death: 2 years from accrual. 10 Del. C. 8107.
Wrongful death damages include mental anguish, and punitive damages need malice or recklessness
Wrongful death damages may include lost support and services, funeral expenses, and mental anguish of listed survivors. Punitive damages are allowed only if the death was maliciously intended or caused by reckless, wilful, or wanton misconduct. 10 Del. C. 3724. 10 Del. C. 3724. No cap on compensatory damages in an ordinary injury case appears in the sections reviewed.
Counties and towns are liable for vehicle accidents, capped at $300,000 unless insured for more
A county or municipality is liable for negligence “in its ownership, maintenance or use of any motor vehicle.” 10 Del. C. 4012(1). Damages, including costs, are capped at $300,000 for all claims from a single occurrence, unless the government buys more liability insurance, in which case the cap is the insurance amount. 4013(a). A local notice ordinance cannot bar suit if notice is given within 1 year. 4013(c). 10 Del. C. 4012 and 4013.
Report to police immediately for injury or $2,000 in damage
- Stop and aid: stop, exchange information, and give reasonable assistance to anyone injured. 21 Del. C. 4201, 4202.
- Police report: immediately report an accident with injury or death, a public-highway accident with apparent property damage of $2,000 or more, or one involving an apparently impaired driver. 21 Del. C. 4203(a). 21 Del. C. 4203.
- Rideshare driver: must give coverage information and, on request, say whether they were logged on or on a ride. 2 Del. C. 1908(8).
Delaware has no driverless vehicle statute
No Delaware autonomous vehicle statute has been enacted. The rideshare chapter defines a driver as an individual using a personal vehicle.
Whether chapter 19 would apply to a driverless trip is unsettled.
DelDOT’s Delaware Transit Corporation issues a $5,000 permit, and towns cannot regulate rideshare
A rideshare company needs a permit from the Delaware Department of Transportation, Delaware Transit Corporation, with an annual fee of $5,000. 2 Del. C. 1903. Companies and drivers “are governed exclusively by this chapter” and the Division’s rules, and a municipality or other local entity may not tax, license, or impose rate, entry, or operational requirements on them. 1922.
The statute has no airport exception. Whether an airport operator may charge rideshare fees or set pickup rules is unsettled.
What decides which policy and which limit applies
- Whether the driver was logged off, logged on and available, had accepted a ride, or was carrying you.
- Log-on and log-off times for 12 hours around the accident. 1910(c).
- Your PIP claim, and which bills PIP pays.
- The uninsured and underinsured coverage on the rideshare policy: $100,000 or $1,000,000 per incident by statute.
- Your share of fault compared with all defendants combined.
- The 2-year deadline, and any local notice rule if a county or town vehicle was involved.
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Pin down the period, then the PIP and uninsured coverage
In Delaware, acceptance moves both liability and uninsured coverage to $1,000,000. A free review can sort out which policies apply to your accident.