Which document shows a Mississippi uninsured-motorist rejection?
The opt-out. Mississippi’s rideshare law requires uninsured motorist coverage only “to the extent required by Section 83-11-101.” Miss. Code § 77-8-15, enacted as House Bill 1381 (2016). The general uninsured-motorist minimum is $25,000 / $50,000 for bodily injury plus $25,000 for property damage, and the property-damage part may exclude the first $200. §§ 83-11-101, 63-15-43. Coverage does not apply where any named insured rejects it in writing on an approved form. That rejection binds everyone insured. Renewals need not include the coverage unless it is requested in writing. Because the rejection rule exists, a rideshare policy could lawfully carry none after a written rejection. Nothing in the rideshare law turns $1,000,000 of liability into $1,000,000 of uninsured coverage.
The document that would show a rejection. The rejection the statute describes is a writing on an approved form, signed by a named insured. Uber’s certificate line, “Not included in any amount,” is not that form. Lyft’s certificate does not mention uninsured coverage. Silence is not a printed rejection, and it is not a printed limit. The passenger’s own policy, including any signed rejection on it, is a different document. So is the driver’s personal policy. § 77-8-19 permits a personal insurer to exclude uninsured coverage while the driver is logged on or providing a prearranged ride. The statute permits the exclusion. It does not say every personal policy uses it. Neither certificate shows a signed rejection.
The liability floor is a different number. While a driver is logged on and not in a prearranged ride, the liability floor is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 for property damage. From acceptance until the last requesting rider departs the car, the floor is $1,000,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage. Mississippi is an at-fault state with no personal injury protection. The Mississippi Insurance Department restates the insurance rules in its rideshare driver insurance notice. Code text is from the official Mississippi Code public access site, current through the 2026 sessions, as of October 13, 2026.
Mississippi & the South
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,” continues while the driver transports a requesting rider, and ends “when the last requesting rider departs from the personal vehicle.” § 77-8-1. The drive to the pickup is already inside the $1,000,000 period.
| App status | Statute | Liability required | Uninsured motorist |
|---|---|---|---|
| App off | Personal policy, § 63-15-43 | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage. Not a rideshare figure. | Required unless a named insured rejects it in writing. § 83-11-101. |
| Logged on and available, no ride accepted | § 77-8-15(2) | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, $25,000 property damage | “To the extent required by Section 83-11-101” |
| Accepted, driving to the pickup | § 77-8-15(4)(a) | $1,000,000 | Same |
| Rider in the car | § 77-8-15(4)(a) | $1,000,000 | Same |
| Last requesting rider departed, driver still logged on | Back to § 77-8-15(2) | $50,000, $100,000, and $25,000 | Same |
If the driver’s insurance lapses or falls short, the company pays from the first dollar
Coverage must be primary and must recognize that the driver is a rideshare driver. The driver, the company, or a combination may provide it. If the driver’s insurance lapses or does not provide the required coverage, the company’s insurance covers the claim from the first dollar and has a duty to defend. Company coverage cannot depend on a personal insurer denying the claim first. § 77-8-15.
The driver must carry proof of coverage. After an accident, the driver must give coverage information on request to directly interested parties, insurers, and police, and say whether they were logged on or on a ride. In a claims investigation, the company and insurers must share log-on and log-off times for the 12 hours before and after the accident. §§ 77-8-15, 77-8-19.
The law says a company “shall not be deemed to control, direct or manage” drivers or vehicles, except by written contract, and treats drivers as independent contractors if five conditions are met. §§ 77-8-1, 77-8-21. Neither is an express bar on liability to injured people. How courts apply them is unsettled.
A personal policy may exclude everything while the app is on
A personal auto insurer may exclude any and all coverage while the driver is logged on or providing a prearranged ride, including liability, uninsured and underinsured coverage, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision. § 77-8-19. The statute permits the exclusion. It does not say every personal policy uses it.
Uninsured coverage is required unless a named insured rejects it in writing
Mississippi’s uninsured motorist minimum is $25,000 / $50,000 for bodily injury plus $25,000 for property damage, and the property damage part may exclude the first $200. §§ 83-11-101, 63-15-43. Coverage does not apply where any named insured rejects it in writing on an approved form. That rejection binds everyone insured, and renewals need not include the coverage unless it is requested in writing.
The rideshare law requires uninsured coverage only “to the extent required by Section 83-11-101.” Nothing in it turns $1,000,000 of liability into $1,000,000 of uninsured coverage. Because the rejection rule exists, a rideshare policy could lawfully carry none after a written rejection. That sentence describes the statute. It is not a finding that Uber or Lyft signed a rejection.
Four documents answer the question. They are not the same paper.
- A written rejection on an approved form, signed by a named insured. That is the rejection §§ 83-11-101 describes. It binds everyone insured under that policy.
- Uber’s certificate sentence, “Not included in any amount.” That is a printed line on the form. It is not the signed rejection.
- Lyft’s certificate, which does not mention uninsured, underinsured, or medical-payments coverage. Silence is not a printed rejection and not a printed limit.
- The passenger’s own policy, including any signed rejection on it, and the driver’s personal policy, including any exclusion § 77-8-19 permits while the driver is logged on or on a prearranged ride.
Neither certificate shows a signed rejection. What uninsured amount, if any, is in force on a policy that has no signed rejection in the file is not settled by these certificates.
Uber prints 50/100/25, then $1 million, and prints uninsured coverage as not included
Uber’s Mississippi certificate is issued by United Financial Casualty Company, NAIC 11770, for March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. Uber certificate PDF.
| What the form describes | Policy | Liability printed | Uninsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logged on and available, no request accepted | 06268003 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | “Not included in any amount” |
| From recorded acceptance (certificate dated September 1, 2026) | 06268308 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | “Not included in any amount” |
Lyft prints three policies with no ride periods and no uninsured line
Lyft’s certificate says “Evidence of Insurance Only For the State of MS.” The insurer is State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, NAIC 25143, and the policies run October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Policy | Label printed | Liability printed |
|---|---|---|
| 3213078-D01-24 | Auto liability | $1,000,000 combined single limit |
| 3213076-D01-24 | Auto liability | $1,000,000 combined single limit |
| 3213084-D01-24 | Non-owned autos only | $50,000 / $100,000 bodily injury, $25,000 property damage |
The remarks list $2,500 comprehensive and collision deductibles. No ride period is printed for any policy, so the certificate doesn’t say which policy covers which app status. Uninsured, underinsured, and medical payments coverage are not shown on the certificate. That silence is not a signed rejection, and it is not a printed limit.
Mississippi is an at-fault state with a 25/50/25 personal minimum
Mississippi has no personal injury protection requirement. Personal auto liability must be at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. § 63-15-43. Injury claims run on fault and liability insurance.
Your own fault reduces, but never bars, recovery, and the general deadline is three years
Mississippi uses pure comparative negligence: a plaintiff’s own negligence reduces damages in proportion but does not bar recovery. § 11-7-15. Liability is several only, in proportion to each party’s fault, and is joint only for a conscious common plan to commit a tort. § 85-5-7.
The general deadline for these claims is three years. § 15-1-49.
Pain and suffering is capped at $1 million, and punitive caps lift for impaired drivers
In civil actions other than medical malpractice, noneconomic damages, including pain, suffering, mental anguish, and disfigurement, are capped at $1,000,000. The jury is not told the cap, and the judge reduces any larger award. § 11-1-60. Medical bills, lost wages, and other economic losses are not capped by that section.
Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of actual malice, gross negligence showing willful, wanton, or reckless disregard for others’ safety, or actual fraud. They are capped by the defendant’s net worth, from $20,000,000 down to 2 percent of net worth. The caps do not apply to a defendant convicted of a felony that caused the injury or acting under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs. § 11-1-65. House Bill 13 (2004), enacting §§ 11-1-60, 11-1-65, 85-5-7
Government claims need written notice 90 days before suit, and are capped at $500,000
Under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, written notice of claim must reach the entity’s chief executive officer, or for a county the chancery clerk and for a city the city clerk, at least 90 days before suit. It must be delivered in person or by registered or certified mail. § 11-46-11.
The deadline is one year. Filing notice tolls it for 95 days, and after that the claimant has 90 more days to sue. Liability is capped at $500,000 per occurrence, with no punitive damages. §§ 11-46-11, 11-46-15.
Stop, stay, give information, and render aid
A driver in an accident causing injury or death must stop at or near the scene and remain. § 63-3-401. The driver must give their name, address, and registration, show their license on request, and render reasonable aid, including arranging transport for medical care. § 63-3-405. House Bill 1003 (2023), bringing these sections forward.
Driverless cars need ordinary financial responsibility, and the rideshare tiers are unsettled
Under the 2023 MS FAVE Act, fully autonomous vehicles may run without a human driver if the system can reach a minimal risk condition and follow traffic law, and a law enforcement interaction plan must be filed with the Department of Public Safety first. The engaged system is treated as the driver. Before driverless operation, the owner files ordinary proof of financial responsibility, with no higher amount set. On-demand autonomous networks may operate under the rideshare, taxi, or for-hire laws, minus provisions that apply only to a human driver.
Whether the § 77-8-15 limits apply to driverless trips is unsettled.
Cities cannot license rideshare, but airports can set reasonable rules
The Mississippi Department of Insurance licenses rideshare companies, audits records, and makes rules. Counties and cities may not tax or license rideshare companies or drivers or impose rate, entry, or operational rules. An airport owner may adopt reasonable rules and fees for pickups on airport property, but not special insurance requirements for drivers. § 77-8-37. The main markets are Jackson, Gulfport-Biloxi, Hattiesburg, and Southaven.
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. § 77-8-19.
- The driver’s personal policy, any rideshare exclusion, and whether it lapsed.
- Your own auto policy, including any uninsured coverage or a signed rejection.
- Fault allocations, because each defendant pays only its own share.
- The accident date, for the three-year deadline, and the 90-day notice if a government vehicle or road is involved.
Latest from Mississippi
Pin down when the ride was accepted, then find which uninsured coverage, if any, applies
In Mississippi, acceptance moves liability to $1,000,000. Uninsured coverage can be rejected in writing. Neither certificate shows a signed rejection or a printed uninsured limit. A free review can sort out which policies apply to your accident.