In Idaho, rideshare insurance must pay from the first dollar if the driver’s policy fails, but the law requires no uninsured coverage
Idaho splits its rideshare law in two. The Transportation Network Company Services Act, Idaho Code 49-3701 to 49-3715, covers operations and screening. The insurance limits are in the Idaho Transportation Network Insurance Act, 41-2517 to 41-2521. 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. From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the last requesting rider departs the car, the floor is $1,000,000 in primary liability for death, bodily injury, and property damage.
The insurance act sets no uninsured or underinsured motorist requirement, and neither company’s certificate shows any. Idaho is an at-fault state: a claimant whose fault is as great as the other side’s recovers nothing, and liability is generally several.
Statute text as of October 13, 2026, from the official Idaho Code on the Idaho Legislature site: Idaho Code 41-2519 and 41-2518.
Idaho & the West
The $1 million period starts at acceptance and ends when the last requesting rider departs
A prearranged ride begins “when a driver accepts a ride requested by a rider through a digital network,” continues while the driver transports the rider, and ends “when the last requesting rider departs from the personal vehicle.” Idaho Code 41-2518(4). The drive to the pickup is already inside the $1,000,000 period.
| App status | Statute | Liability required | Uninsured and underinsured |
|---|---|---|---|
| App off | Personal policy, 49-117(20), 49-1212 | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $15,000 property damage. Not a rideshare figure. | Included unless rejected in writing (41-2502) |
| Logged on and available, no ride accepted | 41-2519(2) | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, $25,000 property damage, primary | None required by the insurance act |
| Accepted, driving to the pickup | 41-2519(3), 41-2518(4) | $1,000,000 primary | Same |
| Rider in the car | 41-2519(3) | $1,000,000 primary | Same |
| Last requesting rider departed, driver still logged on | Back to 41-2519(2) | $50,000, $100,000, and $25,000 | Same |
If the driver’s insurance lapses or falls short, the company’s insurer pays from the first dollar and defends
The driver, or the company on the driver’s behalf, must keep primary insurance that recognizes rideshare use and covers the driver while logged on and while on a prearranged ride. 41-2519(1). If the driver’s insurance has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, the company’s insurance provides it “beginning with the first dollar of a claim and have the duty to defend such claim.” 41-2519(4). Company coverage cannot depend on a personal insurer denying the claim first. 41-2519(5). That first-dollar duty is the liability coverage the section requires, plus a duty to defend. It is not a separate promise to pay medical bills.
The driver must carry proof of coverage while using the app. After an accident, the driver must give coverage information to the people involved, insurers, and investigating officers on request, and say whether they were logged on or on a ride. 41-2519(8).
Both acts say a company is not deemed to control or manage drivers or their vehicles (41-2518(6), 49-3703(1)). Those are definitions, not express bars on liability to injured people. How courts apply them is unsettled.
A personal policy may exclude everything, including uninsured coverage, while the app is on
Idaho auto insurers may exclude “any and all coverage” for loss while a driver is logged on or providing a prearranged ride, including liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motorist, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision coverage. An insurer that excludes has no duty to defend or indemnify. 41-2521(1), (2). The statute permits the exclusion. It does not say every personal policy uses it. Idaho Code 41-2521.
The company and any insurer that may cover the claim must share the driver’s exact log-on and log-off times for the 12 hours before and after the accident, plus a clear description of coverage, exclusions, and limits. 41-2521(3).
The rideshare insurance act requires no uninsured coverage
41-2519 sets liability limits only. It does not mention uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Separately, an ordinary Idaho auto policy must include uninsured and underinsured coverage at the 25/50 bodily injury limits unless a named insured rejects it in writing or in an electronic record. 41-2502(1), (2). Idaho Code 41-2502.
Neither the Uber nor the Lyft certificate shows uninsured coverage. Your own policy’s uninsured coverage may matter, but a personal policy may exclude it during app-on time.
Whether the general rule in 41-2502 reaches a company’s rideshare policy at all is unsettled. Neither company certificate shows a written rejection of uninsured coverage.
Uber prints 50/100/25 for period 1, $1 million from acceptance, and no uninsured coverage
Uber’s Idaho certificates are issued by Farmers Insurance Exchange, NAIC 21652. Uber certificate PDF.
| What the form describes | Policy and term | Liability printed | Uninsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logged in and available, no acceptance recorded | 606715891, March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | “Not included in any amount” |
| Acceptance recorded, en route to pickup or traveling to the destination | 606715892, September 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | “Not included in any amount” |
| Physical damage on accepted trips | 606715892PD | Comprehensive and collision, $2,500 deductibles | Not applicable |
The physical damage coverage applies only if the car carried collision coverage under a personal auto policy at the time of the loss.
Lyft prints three period policies, and period 3 shows only a deductible
Lyft’s certificate SEA-004219062-07 says “Evidence of Insurance Only for the State of ID.” The insurer is Mobilitas Insurance Company, NAIC 16392, and the policies run October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Policy | Period printed | What is printed | Uninsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| IDBA1T6624548270 | Period 1 | $50,000 / $100,000 bodily injury, $25,000 property damage | None shown |
| IDBA2T6624548270 | Period 2 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | None shown |
| IDBA3T6624548270 | Period 3 | Only a $2,500 physical damage deductible | None shown |
Physical damage under the period 2 and period 3 policies pays actual cash value or repair cost, whichever is less, minus $2,500. The certificate prints no liability figure for period 3. Whatever the certificate shows, 41-2519(3) requires $1,000,000 from acceptance until the last requesting rider departs.
No PIP requirement does not mean one liability policy pays the medical bills
Idaho Code 41-2519 sets liability floors. It does not require personal injury protection or medical payments. A liability limit is not a schedule for paying medical bills. The section does not say the at-fault driver’s insurer will pay those bills. It also does not say a collectible liability policy exists in every case.
Which floor applies still depends on app status. Logged on and available, with no prearranged ride, the floor is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage. On a prearranged ride, the floor is $1,000,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage. 41-2519(2), (3). Insurance that meets 41-2519 satisfies the financial-responsibility requirement in title 49, chapter 12, while that coverage applies. 41-2519(7). Off the app, the ordinary minimums stay $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. 49-117(20), 49-1212.
If the driver’s insurance for subsection (2) or (3) has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, the company’s insurance provides that required coverage from the first dollar and has a duty to defend. 41-2519(4). That sentence is about the liability coverage the section requires. It is not a promise that every medical bill is paid without a covered claim.
Optional first-party coverage is separate
A personal auto policy may exclude any and all coverage while the driver is logged on or on a prearranged ride. The list includes liability, personal injury protection, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision. 41-2521(1). An exclusion means no duty to defend or indemnify the excluded claim. 41-2521(2).
Permission to exclude is not a finding that those coverages exist, and it is not a finding that a policy will pay them. The statute does not require a personal policy to cover app-on time. It also does not stop an insurer from covering that time by contract or endorsement. 41-2521(1). A company certificate that omits medical payments is not proof that a different policy will pay them.
What shows which policy applies
A prearranged ride begins when the driver accepts the request and ends when the last requesting rider departs the personal vehicle. 41-2518(4). After an accident, the driver must give proof of the required coverage and say whether they were logged on or on a prearranged ride. 41-2519(8). In a coverage investigation, the company and any insurer that may provide 41-2519 coverage must share the exact log-on and log-off times for the twelve hours before and the twelve hours after the accident, plus a clear description of coverage, exclusions, and limits. 41-2521(3).
50 percent fault recovers nothing, and the injury deadline is two years
A claimant recovers only if their fault “was not as great as” the fault of the party they claim against, and damages are reduced by their share. A 50/50 split recovers nothing. 6-801. Idaho Code 6-801.
Liability is several. The court enters a separate judgment against each party whose fault exceeds the claimant’s, for that party’s share only. Joint and several liability applies only to parties acting in concert or to an agent or servant. 6-803(3), (5). Idaho Code 6-803.
- Personal injury and wrongful death: two years. 5-219(4). Idaho Code 5-219.
- Claims against a government entity: 180-day notice first. See below.
Whether a rideshare driver counts as the company’s agent or servant under 6-803(5) is unsettled.
Pain and suffering is capped by an amount that adjusts every year, and punitive damages are capped too
Noneconomic damages in injury and death cases are capped at a statutory amount that adjusts every July 1 with the state average annual wage. The cap does not apply to willful or reckless misconduct, or to conduct the jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt would be a felony. 6-1603.
Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of oppressive, fraudulent, malicious, or outrageous conduct, cannot be in the original complaint, and are capped at the greater of $250,000 or three times the compensatory damages. 6-1604. Idaho Code 6-1604.
Government claims need written notice within 180 days and are capped at $500,000
Under the Idaho Tort Claims Act, a claim against the state must be filed with the secretary of state, and a claim against a city, county, or other political subdivision with its clerk or secretary, within 180 days from when the claim arose or reasonably should have been discovered, whichever is later. 6-905, 6-906. The claim must describe the conduct, the injury, the time and place, the people involved, and the amount claimed. 6-907. Suit must start within two years. 6-911. Idaho Code 6-906.
Combined liability of a government entity and its employees for any one occurrence is capped at $500,000, regardless of the number of claimants, unless the entity bought excess insurance. 6-926. Idaho Code 6-926.
Stop, exchange information, and call police for injury or damage over $1,500
- Stop and remain: stop immediately at or near the scene. On a divided controlled-access highway, move a drivable car to a safe place. 49-1301.
- Information: give your name and address and, if available, show your license, registration, and proof of liability insurance. 49-1302.
- Police notice: for injury, death, or property damage to any one person over $1,500, notify police immediately: city police inside a city, otherwise the county sheriff or nearest state police office. 49-1305.
- Officer reports: investigating officers send a written report to the department within 24 hours after the investigation, and the reports are not confidential. 49-1306.
No Idaho driverless-vehicle statute was identified
No Idaho statute governing driverless vehicles was identified. Whether the 41-2519 limits would apply to a driverless trip is unsettled.
The state law controls, and it has no airport exception
Rideshare companies and drivers are “governed exclusively” by the state act. No city or other local entity may tax or license a company, driver, or vehicle for rideshare service, or impose its own rate, entry, operating, or other requirements. 49-3715. Unlike many states, the act has no airport exception. Idaho Code 49-3715.
The act requires no state permit. A company must keep an Idaho agent for service of process. 49-3705. The main markets are Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Coeur d’Alene.
What decides which floor and which policy applies
- Whether the driver was logged off, logged on and available, had accepted a ride, or was carrying riders, and when the last requesting rider departed.
- The 12-hour log-on and log-off record around the accident. 41-2521(3).
- The driver’s personal policy, any rideshare exclusion, and whether it lapsed, which triggers first-dollar coverage.
- Your own uninsured coverage, and any written rejection.
- Fault allocations, because 50 percent fault recovers nothing.
- The accident date, for the two-year deadline, and the 180-day notice if a government vehicle or road is involved.
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Pin down when the ride was accepted, then check whose policy pays first
In Idaho, acceptance moves liability to $1,000,000, the company pays from the first dollar if the driver’s policy fails, and neither certificate shows uninsured coverage. A free review can sort out which policies apply to your accident.