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Ridesharing services provide a cost effective and convenient transportation solution for many Floridians. Many people in South Florida regularly rely on Uber and Lyft for day-to-day travel. Unfortunately, the risk of a crash—whether you are in a ridesharing vehicle, a taxi, or your own car—remains an ever-present reality. For a number of reasons, ridesharing collisions are different from other types of crashes. There are unique issues that must be considered. Here, our Boca Raton ridesharing accident attorneys highlight three things that make Uber and Lyft accidents different.
1. Drivers Use their Personal Vehicle for a Commercial Purpose
One of the things that make ridesharing apps so innovative is also the thing that makes any subsequent accidents so complicated. When working for Uber or Lyft, most drivers are using their personal vehicle for a commercial purpose. Of course, when they are not providing rides to passengers, ridesharing drivers tend to use their same vehicle for their own individual purposes.
For this reason, Uber and Lyft drivers typically have multiple different overlapping insurance policies for the same vehicle. Their personal auto insurance policy generally only applies when they are not working as a ridesharing driver. Once they are “on-the-clock”, a commercial policy will then be the applicable insurance coverage.
2. Florida Law: Special Insurance Regulations
In 2017, the State of Florida put special insurance regulations in place to ensure that ridesharing passengers and members of the public are protected from risks posed by these vehicles. The legislation was designed to fill a gap in our state’s insurance laws and ensure that accident victims have access to compensation.
Under Florida’s Uber/Lyft law (CS/HB 221), ridesharing companies are legally required to ensure that their vehicles are covered by a $1,000,000 commercial insurance policy whenever they are actively transporting passengers through the app. Notably, Florida law puts the obligation to obtain insurance on the ridesharing company (Uber or Lyft).
3. Commercial Insurers are Highly Aggressive
In obtaining $1,000,000 commercial insurance policies, Uber and Lyft work with aggressive, well-resourced carriers. These insurers tend to fight back hard against passenger injury claims—they are focused on protecting their own financial interests and they try to pay out as little in compensation as possible.
Further, insurance companies may try to point the finger at other insurers in an effort to avoid paying a claim. If you were injured in an Uber or Lyft crash, you need an experienced Florida ridesharing accident attorney on your side. An attorney will hold these companies and their commercial insurers accountable.
Call Our South Florida Ridesharing Accident Lawyers for Immediate Help
At Eltringham Law Group, our Boca Raton car accident attorneys have the skills and experience to handle all types of ridesharing accident claims. If you were hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash, we can help. Contact us now for a free, no obligation case evaluation. With an office in Boca Raton, we represent injured victims throughout the entire region, including in Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Pompano Beach, and North Palm Beach.
