Florida treats the pickup drive and passenger trip as one $1 million “prearranged ride”
Florida defines a “prearranged ride” as beginning when the rideshare driver accepts the request, continuing while the rider is transported, and ending when the last rider exits the vehicle. The liability limit therefore changes at acceptance, not at pickup.
| App status at impact | Policy that responds | Liability available |
|---|---|---|
| Driver offline | Driver’s personal auto coverage | The driver’s personal policy and any other applicable coverage control. Florida generally requires $10,000 in personal injury protection and $10,000 in property-damage financial responsibility for a registered private vehicle; bodily-injury liability is not a universal registration minimum in the same way. |
| App on, waiting for a request | Primary rideshare/TNC coverage | At least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident for death or bodily injury, plus $25,000 per incident for property damage. Florida also requires personal injury protection during this period. |
| Ride accepted / heading to pickup | Primary rideshare/TNC coverage | At least $1,000,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage. |
| Passenger in vehicle until the last rider exits | Primary rideshare/TNC coverage | At least $1,000,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage. |
Florida allows the required TNC coverage to be supplied by insurance maintained by the driver or vehicle owner, insurance maintained by the transportation network company, or a combination of the two. If driver-maintained rideshare coverage has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, the TNC-maintained policy must respond from the first dollar and has a duty to defend. A TNC policy cannot require the personal auto insurer to deny the claim first. Florida Statutes § 627.748(7)
Acceptance is the key line for liability coverage
Florida does not create a lower liability tier for the drive from acceptance to pickup. The statute’s “prearranged ride” period starts when the driver accepts the request and continues until the last rider exits. During that whole period, the primary liability requirement is at least $1,000,000. Florida Statutes § 627.748(1)(b) and (7)(c)
Personal injury protection is a separate first-party benefit, not part of the $1 million liability limit. Florida’s TNC statute requires PIP both while a driver is waiting for a request and during a prearranged ride. Florida’s general PIP statute provides up to $10,000 in medical and disability benefits, subject to its eligibility and treatment rules, and $5,000 in death benefits. Florida Statutes § 627.736
In Florida, the app record can move a claim from $50,000/$100,000 to $1 million
A driver who was logged in but had not yet accepted a request is in the lower liability tier. A driver who had accepted the ride seconds before the accident is in the $1 million prearranged-ride tier, even if the passenger had not yet been picked up.
Florida gives claimants an unusually useful way to verify that timing. In a coverage investigation, the transportation network company must immediately provide, on request by a directly involved party or an insurer of the TNC driver, the precise times the driver logged on and off the network during the 12 hours before and the 12 hours after the accident. Florida Statutes § 627.748(8)(d)
Do not assume the driver’s personal policy fills any gap. Florida expressly allows a personal auto insurer to exclude any or all coverage while the driver is logged into a TNC network or engaged in a prearranged ride. The statute specifically lists bodily-injury and property-damage liability, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, comprehensive, collision, and personal injury protection among the coverages that may be excluded. Florida Statutes § 627.748(8)(b)
Florida does not impose one fixed rideshare UM/UIM dollar limit
Liability coverage protects against claims that the covered driver caused an accident. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is first-party protection that can apply when another at-fault driver has no liability insurance or not enough liability insurance.
Florida’s rideshare statute requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage “as required by” Florida Statutes § 627.727 in both the waiting period and the prearranged-ride period. Section 627.727 generally requires uninsured-motorist coverage when a policy provides bodily-injury liability coverage, but it permits the named insured to reject that coverage in writing or select lower limits on an approved form. Florida’s statutory definition of an uninsured motor vehicle includes an underinsured vehicle in the circumstances described by the statute. Florida Statutes § 627.727
That structure matters. The TNC statute itself does not say that every Florida Uber or Lyft ride carries a particular UM/UIM dollar amount. The actual policy, declarations, endorsements, and any valid selection/rejection form in effect on the accident date matter.
Uber
Uber’s current Florida certificate lists:
- $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident in bodily-injury liability and $25,000 per accident in property-damage liability while the driver is online and waiting for a request.
- A $1,000,000 combined single liability limit after the driver accepts a request, including the drive to pickup and the passenger trip.
- Basic personal injury protection as further described in the policy.
- No uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage in any amount in either the waiting period or the accepted-ride period.
That company-specific UM/UIM treatment is consistent with Florida’s statutory framework because § 627.727 permits a written rejection. The certificate itself establishes Uber’s stated coverage, but any dispute over the effectiveness of a statutory rejection would require the underlying policy and rejection documentation. Uber Florida Certificate of Liability Insurance, effective March 1, 2026–March 1, 2027
Lyft
Lyft’s current Florida certificate lists the state-required liability tiers: $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident in bodily-injury liability and $25,000 in property-damage liability for the waiting period, and a $1,000,000 combined single liability limit for the accepted-ride coverage shown on the certificate. It also lists basic personal injury protection.
The public Florida certificate does not identify an uninsured or underinsured motorist limit. Lyft’s general insurance page says first-party coverages after acceptance “may include” uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and warns that coverage varies by state. That is not enough to establish a Florida-specific UM/UIM limit. RideClaim.co therefore does not assign one here. The actual Florida policy, declarations, endorsements, and any § 627.727 selection/rejection form should be requested for a claim where UM/UIM coverage matters. Lyft Florida Certificate of Liability Insurance, effective October 1, 2025–October 1, 2026 Lyft — Insurance coverage while driving with Lyft
Because TNC policies and certificates can change, the policy in effect on the accident date controls over a generic national coverage summary.
What proves which Florida policy applies
Florida makes app timing central to coverage. Preserve or request:
- The passenger’s trip receipt
- The ride-request and acceptance timestamps
- Pickup and drop-off data
- The Uber or Lyft trip ID
- The driver’s app status at the moment of impact
- The police accident report
- Insurance information for every driver involved
- The rideshare driver’s personal auto policy and any rideshare endorsement
- The transportation network company’s claim number
- App screenshots
- Communications with Uber or Lyft
- The TNC certificate and underlying policy in effect on the accident date
- Any uninsured/underinsured motorist selection or rejection form if that coverage is disputed
- Any relevant personal uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
- The precise TNC log-on and log-off times for the 12 hours before and after the accident, requested under Florida Statutes § 627.748(8)(d)
- Personal injury protection information and records showing when accident-related medical care began
A Florida rideshare claim can turn on the moment the driver tapped “accept.”
That event can change the primary liability limit from the waiting-period limits to at least $1 million, before the passenger ever enters the car.