How much insurance is available after a Wyoming Uber or Lyft accident?
Wyoming’s rideshare floors are $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 while a driver is available for requests, W.S. 31-20-107(b), and $1,000,000 from acceptance until the rider exits, W.S. 31-20-107(c) and 31-20-101(a)(iii). Both periods require uninsured motorist coverage as required by W.S. 31-10-101; chapter 31-10 does not require underinsured coverage.
Wyoming’s TNC chapter (W.S. 31-20-101 to 31-20-111) creates no state permit, license, or fee; companies must keep a registered agent, W.S. 31-20-102. It says rideshare companies and drivers “are governed exclusively by this chapter,” and cities cannot add stricter operating rules on top of those insurance floors, W.S. 31-20-111. Public airports are the exception, W.S. 31-20-110(e). W.S. title 31 (PDF).
Wyoming names no TNC regulator and preempts city rules
Wyoming’s rideshare rules are in W.S. 31-20-101 to 31-20-111, “Transportation Network Companies.” The chapter creates no state permit, license, or fee; companies must keep a registered agent, W.S. 31-20-102. Cities and other local or state entities cannot tax, license, or add stricter operating rules, W.S. 31-20-111. Public airports are the exception, W.S. 31-20-110(e).
Wyoming & the West
The $1 million period runs from acceptance until the rider exits
A prearranged ride begins “when a driver accepts a rider’s request for a ride” and ends “when the rider exits” the vehicle. 31-20-101(a)(iii). The drive to the pickup is inside the $1,000,000 period.
| App status | Statute | Liability required | Uninsured motorist |
|---|---|---|---|
| App off | Personal policy, 31-9-405(b)(ii) | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $20,000 property damage | Must be included at $25,000 / $50,000 (31-9-102(a)(xi)), but the named insured may reject it (31-10-101) |
| Available, no ride accepted | 31-20-107(b) | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000, primary | “As required by W.S. 31-10-101” |
| Accepted, driving to the pickup | 31-20-107(c); 31-20-101(a)(iii) | $1,000,000 primary | Same; the amount and whether it can be rejected on a rideshare policy are unsettled |
| Rider in the car | 31-20-107(c) | $1,000,000 primary | Same |
| Rider exited, still available | Back to 31-20-107(b) | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | Same as available |
If the driver’s insurance lapses, the company’s insurer pays from the first dollar
The driver, the company, or both may carry the required coverage. 31-20-107(d). If the driver’s insurance has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, the company’s insurance provides it “beginning with the first dollar of a claim,” and the company’s insurer has the duty to defend. 31-20-107(f). The company’s coverage cannot depend on a personal insurer first denying the claim. 31-20-107(e).
The company must immediately provide, on request, the times the driver was available during the 12 hours before and after the accident. 31-20-107(k).
The chapter says a company does not control or direct drivers except by written contract, and drivers are independent contractors if four conditions are met (31-20-110(a), (b)). Whether a company can be liable for a driver’s negligence beyond its insurance is unsettled.
A personal policy may exclude any and all coverage while the app is on
Source: W.S. 31-20-108(a). This is the insurer’s exclusion. It is not the named insured’s rejection of uninsured coverage under W.S. 31-10-101.
Insurers that write auto insurance in Wyoming “may exclude any and all coverage” on a personal policy for loss or injury while the driver is available or on a prearranged ride, including liability, uninsured and underinsured, medical payments, comprehensive, and collision. An excluding insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify the excluded claim. 31-20-108(e). An insurer may still choose to cover rideshare use by endorsement. 31-20-108(d).
Uninsured motorist coverage is required but can be rejected, and underinsured coverage is not required
Source for the personal-policy opt-out: W.S. 31-10-101. A liability policy delivered or issued for delivery in Wyoming, on a motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in the state, must include uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury or death at the limits in W.S. 31-9-102(a)(xi). Those limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. The section then says, “The named insured may reject the coverage.” That rejection is the opt-out. It sits in the uninsured-motorist chapter, not in the rideshare insurance section.
Chapter 31-10 does not require underinsured motorist coverage. The rideshare law requires “Uninsured motorist coverage as required by W.S. 31-10-101” while the driver is available and during a prearranged ride. W.S. 31-20-107(b)(ii), (c)(ii). It does not write its own rejection sentence, and it does not require underinsured coverage.
The required uninsured amount on a rideshare policy, the $25,000 / $50,000 floor or something higher, whether the company or driver may reject it on a rideshare policy, and whether the “registered or principally garaged” condition applies to that policy are unsettled. Neither company certificate shows a written rejection of coverage. The named insured’s rejection quoted above is the personal-policy rule in W.S. 31-10-101. It is not the airport term on Uber’s certificate, and it is not a statewide uninsured amount.
Uber’s certificate prints $1 million uninsured coverage only on public-airport premises
That $1 million figure is not a statewide amount. W.S. 31-20-107 requires “Uninsured motorist coverage as required by W.S. 31-10-101.” It does not set a $1 million uninsured limit for Wyoming.
Source: Uber’s certificate of liability insurance, Farmers Insurance Exchange, NAIC 21652, certificate WY-UBER-RASIER-PERIOD2/3, policy 606715912, policy period September 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. The certificate says uninsured and underinsured coverage “for accidents on the premises of public airports” is maintained at $1,000,000 per accident for death and bodily injury, and that otherwise “UM/UIM is not included in any amount.” Uber certificate PDF.
| Certificate | Policy and dates | Liability printed | Uninsured and underinsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | 606715911, 03/01/2026 to 03/01/2027 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | “not included in any amount” |
| Periods 2 and 3 | 606715912, 09/01/2026 to 03/01/2027 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $1,000,000 per accident for accidents on the premises of public airports; “otherwise, UM/UIM is not included in any amount” |
| Physical damage | 606715912PD, 03/01/2026 to 03/01/2027 | Comprehensive and collision, $2,500 deductibles | Not applicable |
Away from public airport premises, that same certificate prints no uninsured or underinsured amount. The $1,000,000 figure is an airport-premises term on the certificate. It is not the liability floor in W.S. 31-20-107, and it is not a statewide uninsured amount. No med pay or PIP is printed.
Lyft’s certificate shows liability only, with no Period 3 liability figure
Lyft’s certificate SEA-004219098-05 is issued by Mobilitas Insurance Company, NAIC 16392, for October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Policy | Period printed | Limit printed |
|---|---|---|
| WYBA1T6624548270 | Period 1 | $50,000 / $100,000 bodily injury, $25,000 property damage |
| WYBA2T6624548270 | Period 2 | $1,000,000 combined single limit |
| WYBA3T6624548270 | Period 3 | Only a $2,500 physical damage deductible |
No Period 3 liability figure is printed; the statute requires $1,000,000 during a prearranged ride. 31-20-107(c). The certificate shows no uninsured or underinsured coverage and no med pay or PIP.
Wyoming has no PIP or med pay requirement
Wyoming is not a no-fault state on the sections reviewed. Neither the rideshare chapter nor the financial responsibility sections require personal injury protection or medical payments coverage, and neither certificate prints any. Medical bills after a rideshare accident are claimed from the at-fault driver’s liability coverage, paid by your own health coverage, or paid by optional med pay if you bought it. Personal minimums are $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, and $20,000 for property damage. 31-9-405(b)(ii), 31-9-102(a)(xi).
Recover if your fault is not more than 50%, and each defendant pays only its share
Your fault does not bar recovery “if the contributory fault of the claimant is not more than fifty percent (50%) of the total fault of all actors,” and damages are reduced by your share. 1-1-109(b). Fault is weighed among all actors, including people who are not parties to the case. 1-1-109(a)(i). Joint and several liability does not apply: each defendant is liable only for its own proportion of the total fault. 1-1-109(e). W.S. title 1 (PDF).
- Injury: 4 years, under the period for “an injury to the rights of the plaintiff, not arising on contract.” 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C).
- Wrongful death: 2 years after the death. 1-38-102(d).
The Wyoming Constitution forbids damages caps
“No law shall be enacted limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the injury or death of any person.” Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4(a). Wyoming Constitution (PDF). In a wrongful death case, each beneficiary may prove their own damages, “including damages for loss of probable future companionship, society and comfort.” 1-38-102(c).
File a sworn, itemized claim within 2 years, then sue within 1 year
Immunity is waived for negligence of public employees “in the operation of any motor vehicle.” 1-39-105. A claim must be presented as an itemized written statement, including the amount demanded, within 2 years, and signed under oath. 1-39-113. Suit must be filed within 1 year after the claim is filed. 1-39-114.
Recovery is capped at $250,000 per claimant and $500,000 per occurrence, unless the entity has insurance above those amounts. 1-39-118(a), (b). No judgment may include punitive damages, prejudgment interest, or attorney’s fees. 1-39-118(d).
Report injury, death, or a disabled vehicle immediately
- Stop and help: stop, give your name, address, and registration number, and render reasonable assistance. 31-5-1101, 31-5-1103.
- Police notice: “immediately by the quickest means of communication” notify local police inside a city, or the highway patrol or county sheriff, for injury, death, or damage that disables a vehicle. 31-5-1105.
- Rideshare driver: must show proof of coverage and say whether they were available or on a prearranged ride. 31-20-107(j).
- Reports at trial: written reports forwarded under 31-5-1110 cannot be used as evidence in a trial arising from the accident. 31-5-1110(c).
Wyoming has no driverless vehicle law
The published Wyoming Statutes contain no autonomous vehicle chapter. A September 18, 2025 Legislative Service Office memo states: “No legislation regulating autonomous vehicles has been enacted to date.” LSO memo (PDF). The 2021 bill, SF0007, failed.
How the rideshare chapter would apply to a driverless trip is unsettled.
Cities are preempted, but larger airports can require an agreement
No municipality or other local or state entity may tax, license, or impose rate, entry, or operational rules on rideshare companies or drivers that are inconsistent with or stricter than the chapter. 31-20-111. The chapter names no state regulator; companies must keep a registered agent. 31-20-102.
A public airport may enter an operating agreement with a company, and an airport “with more than ninety thousand (90,000) annual enplanements in the previous calendar year” may require one for entry, pick-up, and drop-off. 31-20-110(e).
What decides which policy and which limit applies
- Whether the driver was offline, available, had accepted a ride, or was carrying you.
- Availability times for 12 hours around the accident. 31-20-107(k).
- Whether the accident happened on public airport premises. That location matters for the uninsured term printed on Uber’s certificate, policy 606715912. It is not a statewide statutory amount.
- Whether your own policy kept uninsured motorist coverage or the named insured rejected it under W.S. 31-10-101.
- Your health coverage, since no med pay or PIP is required.
- Your share of fault against the 50% line, and each defendant’s share.
- The 4-year injury and 2-year wrongful death deadlines, and the 2-year sworn claim for a government defendant.
Find out which Wyoming policy applies
Acceptance moves liability to $1,000,000, but uninsured coverage on the certificates is narrow. A free review can sort out which policies apply to your accident.