Published January 30, 2024 · Injury Law Basics

Picture three Dayton crashes on the same Friday night. In the first, a Lyft passenger is hurt when her driver runs a red light on Wayne Avenue. In the second, a driver with the Uber app open, waiting for a request, rear-ends a family on Wilmington Pike. In the third, a food-delivery driver rushing an order sideswipes a cyclist in Kettering.

All three drivers were "working." Yet the insurance available to the injured people could be $1 million in one case, $50,000 in another, and in the third, possibly nothing beyond the driver's personal policy, if that. The difference comes down to a single question: what was the app doing at the moment of the crash?

Ohio's rideshare insurance law in plain English

Ohio regulates Uber, Lyft and similar services as transportation network companies, or TNCs. A TNC must hold a permit from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio under R.C. 4925.02, and the insurance rules are in R.C. Chapter 3942, which took effect in March 2016.

The law divides a rideshare driver's time into three periods. Think of them as tiers.

Tier 1: App off

When the driver is not logged on to the app, the driver is just a person driving a personal car. The driver's own auto policy is the coverage, and that may be only Ohio's minimum limits. If the driver later claims the trip was "for Uber," the personal insurer may look for a way out. We explained in 2022 why Ohio's 25/50/25 minimum limits are not enough for a serious injury.

Tier 2: App on, waiting for a ride

Under R.C. 3942.02(A)(2)(a), while the driver is logged on and available for requests but has not accepted a ride, there must be primary insurance of at least:

  • $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person,
  • $100,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people, and
  • $25,000 for property damage,

in any one crash. That is double the state minimum for injuries, but still far short of what a serious injury is worth.

Tier 3: Ride accepted through drop-off

Under R.C. 3942.01(I), "transportation network company services" begin when the driver accepts a ride request, continue while the passenger is in the car, and end when the last passenger gets out. During that period, R.C. 3942.02(A)(2)(b) requires at least $1 million in primary coverage for bodily injury, death, and property damage in any one crash.

That $1 million tier protects more than the passenger. It applies to anyone the driver injures during a trip, including other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, and it applies while the driver is on the way to pick someone up after accepting the request.

Who carries the insurance

The required coverage can come from the driver's own policy, the TNC's policy, or a combination, under R.C. 3942.02(A)(3). If the driver's personal policy does not provide the required amounts, R.C. 3942.02(B) requires the TNC's insurance to provide them "beginning with the first dollar of the claim," and it cannot insist that the driver's personal insurer deny the claim first.

At the same time, R.C. 3942.03(A) allows personal auto insurers to exclude all coverage while the driver is logged on or providing rides, including liability, medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage. Many do. That is why the period of the crash matters so much: it decides which company's policy is in play.

Delivery drivers are different

Food and package delivery services are not TNCs under Ohio's statute. The definitions in R.C. 3942.01 are built around transporting a rider, not a meal or a package. The rideshare insurance minimums simply do not apply to a delivery driver.

So what covers a delivery driver who causes a crash? Usually the driver's personal auto policy first, and many personal policies exclude driving for a fee. R.C. 3942.03(B)(1) confirms that the rideshare law does not invalidate a policy exclusion for vehicles used to carry persons or property for a charge. Whatever additional coverage a delivery company carries is a matter of its own insurance arrangements, which vary and may apply only in certain circumstances. We do not assume coverage exists or does not exist; we demand the policies and read them.

The evidence only the platform holds

Proving which tier applies requires data that sits on the company's servers: when the driver logged on, when a request was offered and accepted, the GPS trail, and when the trip ended.

Ohio law helps. Under R.C. 3942.02(D), after a crash the driver must tell the people involved and their insurers whether he or she was logged on or providing rides at the time. And R.C. 3942.03(D) requires the TNC and its insurer, in a coverage investigation, to exchange the driver's precise log-on and log-off times for the twelve hours before and after the crash.

That is a starting point, not the whole story. In a serious case, we send a written preservation demand to the platform right away covering trip records, app data, in-app messages, and any driver-facing camera or telematics data. Our guide chapter on gathering evidence while it still exists explains why the first days matter; digital records can be overwritten or purged under routine retention policies.

Your own insurance may be the backstop

Even with a $1 million policy in the picture, your own coverage matters.

  • If the crash happened in Tier 1 or Tier 2, the available liability coverage may be small. Your own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage can fill the gap up to your limits, after the at-fault coverage is credited. Our page on UM/UIM claims in Ohio explains how.
  • If the gig driver's personal insurer denies coverage because of a business-use exclusion, Ohio law can treat the driver as uninsured, which may open your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage.
  • Your MedPay coverage can help with medical bills while fault and coverage are sorted out.

UM/UIM coverage is optional in Ohio under R.C. 3937.18, so check your declarations page. Our guide chapter on using your own insurance walks through each coverage and the notice deadlines that come with it.

What this means for you

If you were hurt by a rideshare or delivery driver, or while riding as a passenger:

  • Get the driver's name, the company, and whether the app was on. Ask directly. Screenshot your own ride receipt if you were a passenger.
  • Take photos of the car, including any rideshare signs or delivery bags.
  • Report the crash to your own insurer promptly, even if you think the company will pay.
  • Do not give a recorded statement to the company's insurer before you know which tier applies and what is being asked.
  • Call a lawyer early. The app data decides the coverage, and the company controls it.

We handle car crash cases throughout the Dayton area, including claims against rideshare and delivery drivers and the companies behind them.

This article is general information about Ohio law, not legal advice about your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and rules change; talk to a lawyer about your specific case.