How much insurance is available after a New Jersey Uber or Lyft accident?
New Jersey draws a sharp line between a rideshare driver who is merely logged in and one who is providing a prearranged ride.
While the driver is online and available, New Jersey requires at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident in bodily-injury liability and $25,000 in property-damage liability, plus primary PIP in amounts selected under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4 and UM/UIM to the extent required by N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1. Once the driver has accepted the passenger’s request and is providing the prearranged ride, the statutory floor jumps to $1.5 million in primary liability, with a matching $1.5 million UM/UIM floor and at least $10,000 in medical-payments coverage for the TNC driver only. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b), (c); timing under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-2.
Those policies are primary. Coverage may be maintained by the driver, the company, or any combination of the two. If driver-maintained coverage lapses or falls short, the company policy responds from the first dollar of the claim, with a duty to defend, and may not require the personal auto insurer to deny first. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(a), (d), (e). Get the acceptance timestamp before treating the $1.5 million figures as automatic.
New Jersey’s accepted-ride insurance requirement is $1.5 million—not $1 million
New Jersey draws a sharp line between a rideshare driver who is merely logged in and one who is providing a prearranged ride. While the driver is online and available for requests, the law requires at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident in bodily-injury liability and $25,000 in property-damage liability, along with PIP and required uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. During a prearranged ride, the liability requirement jumps to $1.5 million. Current New Jersey law also requires $1.5 million in uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage during that prearranged ride. New Jersey P.L.2017, c.26, § 10 (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10)
| App status at impact | Policy that responds | Coverage required |
|---|---|---|
| Driver offline | Driver’s personal auto policy | The driver’s ordinary personal auto insurance applies. For a standard automobile policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, New Jersey’s compulsory liability floors are at least $35,000 / $70,000 / $25,000. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3 (P.L.2022, c.87). |
| App on, waiting for a request | Primary TNC-driver or TNC coverage | At least $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 liability, plus primary PIP in amounts selected under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4, and UM/UIM to the extent required by N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1 (for standard policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, that UM/UIM bodily-injury floor is $35,000 / $70,000). N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b); N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1. |
| Ride accepted / heading to pickup | Primary rideshare coverage | At least $1,500,000 liability for death, bodily injury, and property damage; $1,500,000 UM/UIM; and at least $10,000 in medical-payments coverage for the TNC driver only. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c). |
| Passenger in vehicle through ride completion | Primary rideshare coverage | The same $1,500,000 liability and $1,500,000 UM/UIM requirements continue through the trip. A “prearranged ride” begins at acceptance and ends when the last requesting rider departs. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-2; N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c). |
If driver-maintained rideshare coverage has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, New Jersey requires the transportation network company’s insurance to respond beginning with the first dollar of the claim, and the TNC has the duty to defend. The TNC policy does not have to wait for the personal auto carrier to deny coverage first. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(d), (e).
The drive to pickup belongs to the higher prearranged-ride tier
Once the driver has accepted the passenger’s request, the driver is providing a prearranged ride under N.J.S.A. 39:5H-2, and the higher statutory coverage in N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c) applies. That is why the exact acceptance time can matter even when the collision happened before the passenger entered the vehicle.
Driver medical payments, pedestrian PIP, and UM/UIM are not the same coverage
During a prearranged ride, N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(c) requires three things. Primary liability of at least $1,500,000. Medical-payments coverage of at least $10,000 per person per incident, and that coverage applies only for the benefit of the transportation network company driver. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $1,500,000. Subsection (c) does not list personal injury protection.
The logged-on waiting period is different. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b) requires primary personal injury protection in amounts selected under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4, and UM/UIM only to the extent required by N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1. That waiting-period PIP is not the driver-only medical-payments limit. Neither of those is the $1,500,000 UM/UIM floor.
Who pays an uninsured pedestrian’s medical bills is a third question. A Lyft Driver Hit an Uninsured Pedestrian. Who Pays His Medical Bills in New Jersey?
New Jersey & the Northeast
New JerseyA New Jersey Couple Sued After an Uber Accident. An In-App Agreement Sent Their Claims Against Uber to Arbitration.
New JerseyA Lyft Driver Hit an Uninsured Pedestrian. Who Pays His Medical Bills in New Jersey?
New JerseyAfter a Fatal Uber Accident in West Deptford, a Grand Jury Declined to Charge the Officer.- The full archiveAll RideClaim.co articles
New Jersey currently gives accepted-ride claims one of the strongest statutory UM/UIM floors in the country
The $1.5 million uninsured/underinsured motorist requirement can be critical when another driver caused the collision but had no insurance or too little insurance to cover the loss. An unpublished February 12, 2026 New Jersey Appellate Division decision discussing the statute quoted the $1.5 million prearranged-ride liability and UM/UIM requirements; unpublished opinions are not binding precedent. Wade v. Strauss (N.J. App. Div. 2026)
There is proposed legislation in the 2026 session that would reduce the statutory prearranged-ride UM/UIM minimum, but as of September 2026 it remains pending rather than enacted. The current $1.5 million requirement therefore remains the rule to use for current claims unless the Legislature changes it. New Jersey Assembly Bill A1507
In an action for damages arising from a prearranged ride, a transportation network company or TNC driver may not assert New Jersey’s limitation-on-lawsuit option under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8(a). N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(j).
Transportation network companies operate in New Jersey under a Motor Vehicle Commission permit. The initial and annual permit fee is $25,000. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-4. New Jersey’s TNC statute exclusively governs TNCs and drivers statewide; counties and municipalities may not impose TNC-only licenses, permits, or fees. A financial-access agreement with a city of the first class that has an international airport terminal is the stated exception. N.J.S.A. 39:5H-26.
Uber and Lyft certificates reflect New Jersey’s unusually high accepted-ride limits
Uber
Uber’s New Jersey certificate for March 1, 2026–March 1, 2027 lists $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 liability while the driver is online and waiting, $1.5 million combined single-limit liability after a ride is accepted, and $1.5 million UM/UIM for the accepted-ride period. Its waiting-period UM/UIM is shown separately at $35,000 / $70,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage. Uber New Jersey certificate of insurance
Lyft
Lyft’s current New Jersey certificate, dated September 1, 2026, lists policies effective October 1, 2026–October 1, 2027 with $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 waiting-period liability, personal injury protection on the waiting-period policy, and waiting-period UM/UIM of $35,000 / $70,000 bodily injury and $35,000 property damage. For the accepted-ride periods it lists a $1.5 million combined single limit, $1.5 million bodily-injury UM/UIM, and $10,000 in medical-expense coverage for the TNC driver. Because waiting-period UM/UIM limits can track the policy’s effective date, the certificate actually in force on the accident date should be obtained. Lyft New Jersey certificate of insurance
Get the app-status evidence before treating the $1.5 million layer as automatic
New Jersey’s large accepted-ride limits make the precise trip timeline especially important. Preserve or request:
- Ride receipt, trip ID, and acceptance timestamp
- Pickup and drop-off timestamps
- Driver app screenshots and trip-history records
- Police accident report and 911 records
- Uber or Lyft certificate for the accident date
- The full TNC policy and endorsements
- Personal auto policy and PIP information
- Medical records, wage loss, and out-of-pocket expenses
New Jersey law permits personal passenger-auto policies to exclude specified coverages while a vehicle is being used for TNC activity, another reason not to assume the driver’s ordinary personal policy fills a gap. The rideshare-specific policy and exact app period should be identified first.
Latest from New Jersey
In New Jersey, an accepted ride changes the insurance picture dramatically.
The difference between “waiting” and “prearranged ride” can mean the difference between ordinary split limits and a $1.5 million rideshare layer.