If an Uber or Lyft driver hits you — as a pedestrian, a cyclist, or the driver or passenger of another vehicle, not as that driver's own rideshare passenger — Arizona law generally routes your claim to the rideshare company's own commercial insurance policy rather than the driver's personal auto insurer, and how much coverage applies depends entirely on what the driver's app was doing at the moment of the crash.
Why the driver's personal auto insurer usually isn't the answer
It's a natural assumption: the driver has a personal auto policy, so that policy should respond. Under Arizona's transportation network company (TNC) statute, A.R.S. § 28-4038, that's usually not how it works. Subsection (C) of the statute is direct about it: unless a personal policy specifically says otherwise, both "the transportation network company driver's insurance policy and the motor vehicle owner's personal motor vehicle insurance policy shall not be required to provide coverage" for the driver, the vehicle, or "any third party" while the driver is logged into the Uber or Lyft app. Personal auto policies commonly exclude commercial or livery use for exactly this reason. That's what makes the TNC's own commercial policy — required by the same statute — the coverage that matters for a third party hurt in the crash.
What coverage applies, and when
The statute ties the required coverage to the driver's app status at the moment of the crash:
- App on, no ride accepted yet. Arizona requires primary liability coverage of at least $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $20,000 for property damage. If you're hit by a driver in this window — cruising while waiting for a ride request — this lower tier is what's in place.
- Ride accepted through drop-off. Once a driver has accepted a ride, required primary commercial liability coverage rises sharply: at least $250,000 per incident, and at least $1,000,000 per incident if a passenger is already in the vehicle. This is the tier most likely to apply if you're struck by a rideshare vehicle that's actively en route to or transporting a passenger — a scenario that covers a large share of rideshare-related crashes involving pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers.
- App off entirely. If the driver wasn't logged into the app at all, none of the TNC rules apply — it's an ordinary crash claim against that driver's personal auto policy, like any other.
What this means in practice
Two things are worth doing early if you believe a rideshare driver caused your crash. First, note the driver's name and the rideshare company (Uber, Lyft, or another TNC) at the scene if possible, and report the crash to police — the TNC can typically confirm, from its own trip records, exactly what the driver's app status was at the time, which determines which coverage tier applies. Second, don't assume the driver's personal insurer will simply step in; under § 28-4038(C), it isn't required to, and pursuing the claim through the right policy from the start avoids delay.
This is a different question from what coverage applies if you're the rideshare passenger — Arizona sets that up differently, as covered in Arizona's Three Tiers of Rideshare Insurance and Injured as an Uber or Lyft Passenger in Arizona. The tier framework is the same statute, but a passenger's claim and a third party's claim can lead to different practical starting points.
Source: A.R.S. § 28-4038, Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 28 (Transportation) — verified against the Arizona State Legislature's official statute text.