Quick Answer
Passengers are the most clearly protected group in California rideshare law. The crash is automatically in Phase 3, triggering $1,000,000 in commercial liability plus $1,000,000 in uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. You don’t have to prove your driver was at fault — the coverage applies whether the rideshare driver or another driver caused the crash. Comparative fault is rarely an issue because you weren’t operating the vehicle.
Reviewed by Daryoosh Khashayar, ABOTA Member, founder and managing partner of Khashayar Law Group — Last updated May 2026.
When a passenger is in an Uber or Lyft at the moment of a crash, the case sits in Phase 3 of California Public Utilities Code §5433. The rideshare company’s $1,000,000 commercial liability policy applies for any party at fault, plus an additional $1,000,000 uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) policy applies if the at-fault party in another vehicle has insufficient insurance.
The combination is structurally favorable to passengers in three ways. First, you don’t have to determine which driver caused the crash before you can recover — the coverage applies either way. Second, California’s pure comparative negligence rule under Civil Code §1714 rarely affects passenger cases because the passenger wasn’t operating the vehicle and almost never bears any fault. Third, the $2,000,000 of available coverage is substantially more than the minimum personal auto policies in California ($15,000/$30,000).
The principal risk in passenger cases is not coverage availability — it is the rideshare insurer’s tendency to make a fast, low first offer. These offers are typically a small fraction of true case value, designed to close the claim before the passenger gets full medical workups or attorney representation. Khashayar Law Group does not accept rideshare first offers without a complete medical and damages workup.
Phase 3 coverage breaks down into two distinct policies:
The UM/UIM coverage is what protects passengers from being undercompensated when another driver caused the crash but carried only minimum coverage.
For passenger coverage, no. The $1,000,000 liability policy pays regardless of whether the rideshare driver or another driver caused the crash. If another driver was at fault but has no or insufficient insurance, the $1,000,000 UM/UIM policy fills the gap. Passengers cannot have comparative fault attributed to them because they weren’t driving.
The fault determination still affects the case in one way: it determines whose insurer pays. But it doesn’t determine whether the passenger gets paid.
Rideshare insurers track which passengers contact attorneys and which don’t. Passengers who haven’t retained counsel receive lowball first offers, typically within days of the crash, sometimes before the passenger has been fully evaluated medically.
The first offer is almost always a fraction of true case value because:
Once you sign a release, the case is over. The release is enforceable in California regardless of how injuries develop later.
Even as a passenger, the documentation in the first 48 hours matters:
This FAQ relates to our Rideshare Accidents practice. Before accepting any rideshare insurer offer, call (858) 509-1550 for a free case evaluation.