What insurance does Utah require on an Uber or Lyft trip?
The numbers below are the statute. A printed certificate can show different uninsured amounts. Those printed amounts are not the law.
Utah’s rideshare insurance rules are in the Transportation Network Company Registration Act, Utah Code § 13-51-108. While a driver is logged in and waiting for a request, the floor is $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence, and $30,000 for property damage. Utah’s waiting-period property figure is $30,000, not $25,000. From the moment the driver accepts a request until the passenger exits, the floor is $1,000,000 per occurrence.
Utah is a no-fault state. Both rideshare periods must carry personal injury protection. A suit for pain and suffering is limited by a serious-injury threshold. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required only where Utah’s general insurance code requires it. It does not step up to $1,000,000 when liability does.
Statute text from the Utah Legislature’s official code site, as of October 13, 2026: § 13-51-108 and § 13-51-102, as amended by the 2026 General Session effective May 6, 2026.
Utah & the West
Two liability floors, with PIP in both
A prearranged ride begins when the driver accepts the request in the app and ends “when the passenger exits the transportation network driver’s vehicle.” § 13-51-102(2). The drive to the pickup is already inside the $1,000,000 per occurrence period. The statute’s wording is “the passenger,” in the singular.
| App status | Statute | Liability the law requires | PIP, uninsured, and underinsured |
|---|---|---|---|
| App off | Personal policy, § 31A-22-304(2) | For policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, a personal minimum of $30,000, $65,000, and $25,000, or a single limit of $90,000. Those are personal-policy amounts under § 31A-22-304(2). They are not the rideshare floors in § 13-51-108. | Whatever the personal policy provides |
| Logged in, no request accepted | § 13-51-108(2) | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence, and $30,000 for property damage | PIP required. Uninsured coverage only where § 31A-22-305 requires it. Underinsured coverage only where § 31A-22-305.3 requires it. |
| Accepted, driving to the pickup | § 13-51-108(1) | $1,000,000 per occurrence | Same PIP requirement, and the same “where required” rule for uninsured and underinsured coverage |
| Passenger in the car | § 13-51-108(1) | $1,000,000 per occurrence | Same |
| Passenger has exited, driver still logged in | Back to § 13-51-108(2) | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence, and $30,000 for property damage | Same |
The law does not print a flat uninsured dollar that rises with the $1,000,000 liability figure. Company certificates, discussed below, print their own uninsured amounts. A printed amount is evidence of what that form says. It is not a restatement of § 13-51-108.
If the driver’s coverage lapses, the company pays from the first dollar
The driver, the company, or a combination may provide the required coverage. § 13-51-108(3). If the driver’s coverage lapses or does not meet the requirement, the company’s coverage applies from the first dollar of the claim. § 13-51-108(9). The insurer providing rideshare coverage has a duty to defend. § 13-51-108(8). Company coverage cannot depend on a personal insurer denying the claim first. § 13-51-108(10).
A personal auto insurer may exclude coverage while the driver is logged in or on a prearranged ride. § 13-51-108(11). The statute permits that exclusion. It does not say every personal policy uses it.
PIP pays at least $3,000 in medical bills, and pain-and-suffering suits need a serious injury
Personal injury protection pays at least $3,000 per person in medical expenses, plus benefits for lost wages, household services, funeral costs, and death. § 31A-22-307. Both rideshare periods must carry it. § 13-51-108(1) and (2).
A suit for general damages, such as pain and suffering, is allowed only if the injury involves one of the following. § 31A-22-309(1).
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings
- Permanent disfigurement
- A bone fracture
- Medical expenses over $3,000
That threshold does not apply to uninsured motorist claims. § 31A-22-309.
The law does not set a $1,000,000 uninsured limit
The rideshare act requires uninsured coverage only “where required by” § 31A-22-305, and underinsured coverage only where § 31A-22-305.3 requires it. § 13-51-108. Under § 31A-22-305(4)(a), for policies written on or after January 1, 2001, uninsured limits equal the lesser of the liability limits or the insurer’s maximum available, unless a named insured rejects the coverage or buys less by signing a filed acknowledgment form.
The statute does not say $1,000,000 of liability means $1,000,000 of uninsured coverage. Both company certificates print uninsured limits of $25,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. That second figure is five hundred thousand dollars per accident, not a $25,000 / $50,000 split and not $500 of coverage. Whether a reduction form was signed is not shown on either certificate.
A vehicle carrying less than the Utah minimum counts as uninsured to the extent of the shortfall. § 31A-22-305(2)(a)(ii). § 31A-22-305.
Filing periods, and the one-year government notice
- Wrongful death: two years. § 78B-2-304(3).
- Motor-vehicle property damage: four years. § 78B-2-307(3).
- Injury claims: Utah has no injury-specific limitations section. The catch-all period in § 78B-2-307(4) is the one commonly applied to injury claims. A lawyer can confirm the filing deadline for a particular claim.
- A claim against a city, county, or the state: a written notice of claim must be filed within one year after the claim arises, or the claim is barred. §§ 63G-7-401(3) and 63G-7-402. Suit cannot be filed until 60 days after the notice, and it must be filed within two years after the claim arises. § 63G-7-403(2).
The notice goes to the city or town clerk, the county clerk, or the state’s designated office. § 63G-7-401(4). § 63G-7-402. The Governmental Immunity Act also limits damages against government bodies. The notice sections cited here do not quote that cap.
These filing periods are not the same thing as a record-retention rule. Do not wait to get advice on a deadline.
Printed amounts: no uninsured coverage while waiting, then $25,000 per person and $500,000 per accident
These are amounts the form prints. They are not the liability floors in § 13-51-108, and they are not a statutory uninsured schedule.
The file linked from “Utah” on Uber’s certificates list is issued by Farmers Insurance Exchange to Rasier LLC and affiliates, for March 1, 2026 through March 1, 2027. Uber certificate PDF.
| What the form describes | Policy | Liability printed on the form | PIP and uninsured coverage printed on the form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logged in and available, no acceptance recorded | 606715906 | $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident, and $30,000 property damage. The form says “per accident.” The statute’s waiting-period word for the $100,000 figure is “per occurrence.” | PIP included. The form states: “Uninsured Motorist (UM) / Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage is not included in any amount.” |
| Acceptance recorded, en route to pickup or traveling to the destination | 606715907 | $1,000,000 combined single limit. “Combined single limit” is the certificate’s wording. § 13-51-108(1) says $1,000,000 per occurrence. | PIP included. Uninsured coverage printed as $25,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. No underinsured sentence. |
A third page describes physical damage during accepted trips only, and only if the driver carries personal collision coverage.
Whether the waiting-period policy’s “not included in any amount” uninsured coverage complies with the act’s “where required” language is unsettled.
The form prints $25,000 per person and $500,000 per accident, and does not assign that coverage to a period
Lyft’s certificate SEA-004219136-05 says “Evidence of Insurance Only for the state of UT.” The insurer is Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The policies run October 1, 2026 through October 1, 2027. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Row label on the form | Policy | Liability printed on the form | Other terms printed on the form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | AS2-695-471695-086 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $30,000. The form prints those three dollar amounts with slashes. It does not define Period 1, so this row is not itself § 13-51-108(2). | Includes PIP |
| Period 2/3 | AS2-695-471695-096 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | Includes PIP. Physical damage with a $2,500 deductible. |
The certificate also lists “Uninsured Motors Bodily Injury Limits: $25,000 / $500,000.” Spell that line out: $25,000 per person and $500,000 per accident of uninsured bodily-injury coverage. The $500,000 figure is per accident. It is not $500, and it is not the second half of a $25,000 / $50,000 split limit.
The form does not say which period that uninsured coverage applies to. Whether it applies in Period 1 is unsettled. The certificate does not define its period labels. It does not mention underinsured-motorist coverage on that uninsured line.
You recover only if the defendants together were more at fault than you
Utah uses modified comparative fault. A claimant recovers only from defendants whose combined fault exceeds the claimant’s own, so a 50/50 split bars recovery. Damages are reduced by the claimant’s share, and each defendant is liable only for its own share. § 78B-5-818. § 78B-5-818.
Where the one-year notice goes
If the accident involves a Utah Transit Authority bus, a police car, or a road defect, the Governmental Immunity Act applies. The one-year notice, the 60-day wait before suit, and the two-year suit period are in the deadlines section above. The notice goes to the city or town clerk, the county clerk, or the state’s designated office. § 63G-7-401(4).
The Act also limits damages against government bodies. The notice and timing sections cited here do not quote that cap.
Punitive damages need clear and convincing proof of willful or reckless conduct
Punitive damages are available only with compensatory damages, and only on clear and convincing proof of willful and malicious or intentionally fraudulent conduct, or knowing and reckless indifference to the rights of others. Those limits do not apply to impaired driving under § 41-6a-502. Evidence of wealth comes in only after punitive liability is found. § 78B-8-201.
Stop, stay, and exchange information
After an accident with only property damage, the driver may move the car out of traffic but must stay at the scene or that safe spot until information is exchanged. § 41-6a-401. After an injury accident, the driver must stop immediately and stay until the required duties are done. Leaving is a class A misdemeanor or a felony. § 41-6a-401.3.
Since 2026, a self-driving system can count as a rideshare driver
When an automated driving system is engaged, the system is the operator. § 41-26-104. Before it operates on a highway, the owner must meet the ordinary financial responsibility requirement, not a special $1,000,000 rule. § 41-26-107(3). Driverless ride networks may operate under the rideshare act, transit, or passenger carrier law, minus provisions that apply only to human drivers. § 41-26-106. Cities cannot ban or add requirements for automated vehicles. § 41-26-108.
The 2026 amendment defines a “transportation network driver” to include a level four or five automated driving system operating for compensation. § 13-51-102(5)(b). Whether the $1,000,000 per occurrence tier, and the $50,000 per person, $100,000 per occurrence, and $30,000 property-damage tier, then apply in full to a driverless trip is unsettled.
Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo, and Ogden
Rideshare companies register with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. § 13-51-102(1). The main markets are Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Provo, Ogden, and Salt Lake City International Airport.
What decides which floor and which benefits apply
- Whether the driver was logged off, logged in and waiting, had accepted a request, or was carrying the passenger, and when the passenger exited.
- The PIP claim, and medical records showing whether the injury meets the § 31A-22-309 threshold.
- The driver’s personal policy, any rideshare exclusion, and whether it lapsed.
- Each policy’s declarations, and any signed uninsured reduction or rejection form. The certificate’s printed $25,000 per person and $500,000 per accident is not a substitute for that form.
- Fault allocations, because a 50/50 split bars recovery.
- If a government vehicle or road is involved, the date the claim arose, for the one-year notice.
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Start with PIP, then pin down whether the driver had accepted the ride
In Utah, acceptance moves liability to $1,000,000, PIP pays first, and uninsured coverage stays far below the liability figure. A free review can sort out which policies apply to your accident.