Whose insurance applies if an Uber driver hits me while the app is turned off?
When an Uber driver causes a crash with the app turned off, the driver’s personal auto insurance is the coverage that applies, not Uber’s commercial policy. With the app off, the person is just an ordinary motorist, and the rideshare company’s coverage is not engaged.
App status controls which policy responds ¶
Georgia’s rideshare insurance framework is tiered around what the driver was doing on the app at the moment of the crash. The company’s coverage attaches only once the driver has logged in and is available for or engaged in rideshare activity. When the app is off, none of that applies. The driver is not waiting for a request, has not accepted a ride, and is not carrying a passenger, so the trip has nothing to do with Uber.
In that situation the driver’s own personal automobile policy is the source of coverage for the people the driver injures, the same as for any private driver running a personal errand. The fact that the person sometimes drives for Uber does not pull the company’s policy into a crash that happened while the app was off.
What that means for an injured person ¶
Because the personal policy controls, the injured person’s claim looks like a standard Georgia auto claim. The amount of coverage depends on the at-fault driver’s personal limits, which may be only the state minimum liability coverage of 25/50/25. O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 then has a Georgia jury express the fault in percentages, so the payout falls by whatever share lands on the injured person and disappears once that share reaches half.
If the at-fault driver’s personal limits are too low to cover the harm, an injured person may be able to fall back on their own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, depending on the policy. That is a separate avenue from the rideshare company, which remains out of the picture when the app was off.
The bottom line ¶
If an Uber driver hits someone with the app turned off, the driver’s personal auto insurance applies and Uber’s commercial coverage does not, because the rideshare tiers depend on the driver being logged in. The claim proceeds like an ordinary Georgia auto case, with the injured person’s own UM/UIM coverage as a possible backstop if the at-fault driver’s limits fall short.
This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.