How much insurance is available after a Virginia Uber or Lyft accident?
Virginia requires primary rideshare insurance whenever a TNC partner is operating a rideshare vehicle. Virginia Code § 46.2-2099.52
While the driver is logged on and waiting, the minimum liability limits are $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. From the moment the driver accepts a trip, the required primary liability is $1,000,000.
This guide does not discuss a specific accident date. The limits above are the limits in the linked text of § 46.2-2099.52. On the LIS site on November 10, 2026, that section’s history line cites 2015, chapters 2 and 3, and a 2023 amendment, chapters 321 and 322. Use these app-period limits only if that version was in force on the accident date.
An injured person can send a written request for app status and the primary insurance carrier. If the app fails while the driver is already headed to a passenger or transporting one, the statute presumes the $1 million accepted-ride liability coverage continues until the passenger exits.
Virginia moves to $1 million in primary liability as soon as the driver accepts the ride
Virginia requires primary rideshare insurance whenever a TNC partner is operating a rideshare vehicle. While the driver is logged in and waiting for a passenger request, the minimum liability limits are $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. From the moment the driver accepts a prearranged ride until the app transaction or ride is complete, whichever is later, the minimum primary liability coverage is $1 million. Virginia Code § 46.2-2099.52
| App status at impact | Policy that responds | Coverage required |
|---|---|---|
| Driver offline | Driver’s personal auto policy | The driver’s ordinary personal auto policy applies, subject to its terms and Virginia’s financial-responsibility requirements. |
| App on, waiting for a request | Primary TNC-driver or TNC coverage | At least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident bodily injury and $25,000 property damage, plus UM/UIM as required by Virginia law. |
| Ride accepted / heading to pickup | Primary rideshare coverage | At least $1,000,000 in primary liability, plus required UM/UIM. |
| Passenger in vehicle through ride completion | Primary rideshare coverage | At least $1,000,000 in primary liability, plus required UM/UIM. For underinsured coverage that applies only while the passenger is in the vehicle, payment is without credit for liability coverage available for payment. |
| Ride complete, driver still logged on | Primary TNC coverage | Back to at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident bodily injury and $25,000 property damage, plus UM/UIM as required by § 38.2-2206. § 46.2-2099.52(C). |
Those app-period limits are the limits in the version of § 46.2-2099.52 linked on this page, the text displayed on the LIS site on November 10, 2026. This guide does not discuss a specific accident date, so it does not match the limits to one accident. The Uber certificate linked below covers March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. It does not describe every accident date.
The accepted-ride coverage does not depend on a personal auto carrier denying the claim first. Virginia also provides that the driver’s or vehicle owner’s personal policy does not have to defend or indemnify rideshare activity unless the policy expressly provides that coverage. Virginia TNC insurance statute
A platform malfunction does not automatically erase the accepted-ride tier
If the rideshare platform becomes inaccessible because of a failure or malfunction while the driver is heading to a passenger or transporting one, § 46.2-2099.52(D) presumes the liability coverage required in subdivision B 1 continues until the passenger exits. That is the $1 million accepted-ride liability coverage. The presumption is about that liability coverage.
Virginia & the South
How do you ask for app status and the insurance information?
A person who suffers a loss, or a lawyer writing for that person, may request the information in writing. The person needs a reasonable belief that the accident involved a TNC partner vehicle driven in connection with the company. Virginia Code § 46.2-2099.52(G)
Put the date, the approximate time, and the location in the request. If you have them, add the driver’s name and the accident report. The company has to answer electronically or in writing within 30 days.
The answer has to say whether the driver was logged into the company’s digital platform at about the time of the accident. If the driver was logged in, it has to say whether a trip request had been accepted or a passenger was in the vehicle. It also has to name the insurance carrier providing primary coverage, and give the driver’s identity and last known address.
In a claims-coverage investigation, the company and its insurer have to cooperate and exchange information. That includes the dates and times of the accident and the precise times the driver logged in and logged out. § 46.2-2099.52(N).
Virginia requires UM/UIM in both rideshare periods, with a special passenger-period rule
§ 46.2-2099.52 requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as required by Virginia Code § 38.2-2206, both while the driver is logged on and waiting and during an accepted ride.
There is a separate passenger-period rule. For underinsured coverage that applies solely from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle until the passenger exits, § 46.2-2099.52(B) says it is paid without any credit for the bodily injury and property damage coverage available for payment. Neither the TNC nor the TNC partner shall elect to refuse the change in underinsured motorist coverage under § 38.2-2202(C).
Uber
Source: Uber’s Virginia certificate of liability insurance, Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation, NAIC 10725, policy period March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. While the driver is available and has not accepted a request, policy ASE-665-067247-676 shows $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 liability and UM/UIM at the same limits. After acceptance is recorded, policy ASE-665-067247-686 shows $1 million combined single-limit liability and UM/UIM of $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000. That certificate is for that policy period. It is not a certificate for a different accident date. Uber Virginia certificate of insurance
Lyft
Lyft publishes state-specific proof of insurance, but the policy and certificate in force on the date of the accident should be obtained before assigning a specific UM/UIM number to a Virginia claim. Virginia’s statutory requirements remain the floor. Lyft insurance information
§ 46.2-472 is the owner’s-policy statute, not the rideshare floor. For a policy effective on or after January 1, 2025, it states $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $100,000 for two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage. For a policy effective on or after January 1, 2022 and before January 1, 2025, the same section states $30,000 / $60,000 / $20,000. The two bands follow the policy’s effective date. This guide does not discuss a specific accident date or a specific policy effective date, so it does not choose a band. Virginia Code § 46.2-472
Virginia’s own statute tells you which app records are worth demanding
Because the coverage tier can change at ride acceptance, preserve or request:
- Trip receipt and ride-request acceptance time
- Driver login and logout timestamps
- Whether a passenger was aboard at impact
- Pickup and drop-off timestamps
- Police report and exact accident location
- The primary carrier identified by the TNC
- Certificate and policy in force on the accident date
- Medical records, wage loss, and other damages documentation
If the TNC does not voluntarily provide the basic status and carrier information, Virginia’s 30-day written-request procedure gives an injured person or attorney a statutory route to obtain it.
Latest from Virginia
In Virginia, the platform’s timestamps can identify the million-dollar coverage period.
Ride acceptance, passenger status, and the insurance certificate in force on the accident date can all change what coverage is available.