Uber has changed how New Yorkers get around. Hailing a car from a phone has gone from a novelty to a daily habit in New York City, and app-based rides now operate across the rest of the state. The same shift complicated car accident claims. A crash that once involved two drivers and two insurers can now involve a driver, a separate vehicle owner, a commercial policy, and a technology company.

For an Uber accident claim, New York law provides a two-part answer to the question of whose insurance pays in an Uber accident. First, no-fault coverage pays your medical bills and part of your lost wages, no matter who caused the crash. For passengers, that is usually the policy on the car you were riding in. Second, compensation for pain and suffering comes from the liability insurance of whoever was at fault, and you may pursue it only if your injury meets the legal definition of a “serious injury.”

If you were hurt in an Uber accident, you need a firm that knows personal injury law and understands how ride-share insurance works. Greenspan & Greenspan Injury Lawyers has represented injured New Yorkers since 1959. Ride-share accidents involve the same injuries and negligence questions we have handled for decades, plus layers of corporate insurance policies. Our personal injury experience prepares us for both. Contact Greenspan & Greenspan Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation with an Uber accident lawyer.

How Does Where the Trip Began Decide the Policy?

New York regulates Uber under two separate sets of rules, and the pickup location decides which one applies.

Outside New York City, Uber operates as a “transportation network company” regulated under Vehicle and Traffic Law Article 44-B, which sets minimum coverage based on what the driver’s app was doing at the time of the crash:

  • App off. The driver’s personal auto policy applies.
  • Logged in and waiting for a request. The policy must provide at least $75,000 per person and $150,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage.
  • Trip accepted through drop-off. The policy must provide at least $1,250,000 in liability coverage, $1,250,000 in supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, and no-fault coverage.

Inside New York City, Article 44-B does not apply because the statute excludes cities with a population of one million or more. An Uber in the five boroughs is a for-hire vehicle licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and must carry commercial insurance at all times, whether the app is on or off.

TLC rules require liability coverage of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. They also require $100,000 in no-fault coverage under Local Law 90.

Passenger, Pedestrian, or Driver: Where Does Your First Claim Go?

No-fault benefits are the first money available, and they do not depend on who caused the crash. Under New York Insurance Law, “basic economic loss” covers up to $50,000 per person. That includes necessary medical expenses; 80% of lost earnings, up to $2,000 per month for up to 3 years; and up to $25 per day for other reasonable expenses for 1 year. In New York City, Uber vehicles must carry $100,000 in no-fault coverage per person, double the state minimum.

Where you file depends on your role in the crash:

  • Injured Uber passenger. You file with the insurer of the Uber vehicle you were riding in.
  • Pedestrian or cyclist struck by an Uber. You file with the insurer of the vehicle that hit you.
  • Occupant of another car. You file with the insurer of the car you occupied, even when the Uber driver was plainly at fault.

Uber drivers in New York are covered for workers’ compensation through the Black Car Fund, and workers’ compensation generally pays your medical bills and lost wages before no-fault does. Your injury claim against another at-fault motorist proceeds like any other.

Outside New York City, once you accept a trip request and until the passenger is dropped off, $1.25 million in supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage protects you and your passengers if the at-fault motorist has no insurance or too little to cover the injuries.

No-fault does not cover pain and suffering, and it has strict deadlines. The mandatory policy endorsement at 11 NYCRR § 65-1.1 requires written notice to the insurer within 30 days of the crash. Medical bills must generally be submitted within 45 days of treatment, and wage claims within 90 days.

Beyond the Driver: Owner, Leasing Companies, and Uber Itself

No-fault pays bills, but it does not decide fault. A claim for pain and suffering is brought against whoever was negligent, which may be the Uber driver, another motorist, or both.

The Role of Owners and Leasing Companies

The driver is not always the only responsible party. The owner of the vehicle is liable for the negligence of anyone driving it with permission. That matters because many Uber drivers operate cars registered to someone else.

Federal law limits that rule. The Graves Amendment protects companies that rent or lease vehicles from liability based solely on ownership. A leasing company can still be held liable for its own negligence, such as poor maintenance.

Uber and Independent Contractor Status

Uber treats its drivers as independent contractors, which makes it harder to hold Uber responsible for a driver’s negligence. Its app terms also contain an arbitration clause.

In Wu v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (2024), New York’s Court of Appeals held that riders who accept Uber’s terms of use through the app agree to arbitrate their disputes with the company. The plaintiff in that case was a passenger injured during an Uber ride. As a result, an injured Uber passenger’s claim against Uber itself may be decided by an arbitrator instead of a jury.

The clause generally does not bind people who never agreed to Uber’s terms, such as pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles. Claims against the driver and the vehicle owner are also unaffected by the clause and are usually the primary source of compensation.

The Impact of Shared Liability

The consequences of fault have also changed. For decades, New York allowed an injured person to recover damages even when they were mostly to blame, with the award reduced by their share of fault. Amendments that took effect in 2026 created an exception for motor vehicle injury lawsuits governed by the no-fault law and commenced on or after May 26, 2026: if the injured person is found more than 50% at fault, they cannot recover damages in the lawsuit. No-fault benefits for medical bills and lost wages are not affected by this rule.

A passenger almost never carries any share of fault. An Uber driver, or a pedestrian accused of crossing against the signal, might. Expect an adjuster’s first recorded-statement question to cover where you were looking, how fast you were moving, and whether you were in the crosswalk, because fault percentages are built from those answers.

What Is Considered a Serious Injury?

New York Insurance Law allows a lawsuit for pain and suffering only when the injury qualifies as a “serious injury” as defined by the statute. For lawsuits commenced before May 26, 2026, one common route was the “90/180” category, which covered a non-permanent injury that kept a person from usual activities for 90 of the first 180 days. The 2026 amendments removed that category.

Eight categories remain:

  • Death;
  • Dismemberment;
  • Significant disfigurement;
  • A fracture;
  • Loss of a fetus;
  • Permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function, or system;
  • Permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; and
  • Significant limitation of use of a body function or system.

For injuries in the last three categories, the law requires objective medical proof, and an unexplained gap in treatment can defeat the claim. In practice, that means range-of-motion measurements and imaging recorded close to the crash date, followed by consistent care.

The amendment also changed the order of decisions. In a motor vehicle injury lawsuit seeking pain and suffering, the jury must now decide who was at fault before deciding whether the injury qualifies as a serious injury. Because of that sequencing, serious injury disputes that defendants once tried to end early on a motion for summary judgment may remain open until trial.

What 5 Moves Can Start Your Claim?

The first days after an Uber crash matter most because each of the five steps below protects a different part of your claim, and each one runs on its own deadline:

  1. Get medical care and get the crash on record. Seek medical attention immediately and call 911 so the police can document the crash. Drivers must also file a report with the DMV within 10 days when someone is injured.
  2. Capture the trip. Save a screenshot of the ride receipt, the driver’s name, the license plate, and the pickup and drop-off times, and report the crash through the app. These records show the app status, which decides the policy.
  3. File the no-fault application within 30 days. Send it to the correct insurer for your role in the crash. A form sent to the wrong company does not stop the deadline.
  4. Hold off on the recorded statement about fault. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurance company, and you should not sign a release before the full cost of your injuries is known. Your own no-fault insurer is different; the policy requires your cooperation.
  5. Mark the lawsuit deadlines. You generally have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury action and two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death action. If a city bus or other government vehicle was involved, you generally must serve a notice of claim within 90 days of the accident and file suit within 1 year and 90 days.

Taken in this order, these steps keep your medical bills moving through no-fault while preserving your right to pursue the at-fault party for everything no-fault does not cover.

What 3 Questions Decide Your Uber Claim?

Every Uber accident claim in New York turns on three questions:

  1. Where did the trip begin?
  2. What was the app status?
  3. What was your role in the crash?

Greenspan & Greenspan Injury Lawyers can answer these questions for you and act on them. We can file your no-fault application with the correct insurer before the deadline, preserve the trip records that establish which policy applies, and identify every responsible party, from the driver and vehicle owner to another motorist. We can also handle communications with insurers and work with your doctors to document your injuries with the objective medical evidence the law requires.

We have represented injured New Yorkers since 1959 and handle Uber accident claims on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Legal References Used to Inform This Page

To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process:

greenspangrstg

A dedicated attorney with bar admissions in New York, Florida, and the Supreme Court of the United States, has a deep-rooted commitment to his community. Since 1992, he has been a certified high school track and field official and an Executive Committee member of the Glenn D. Loucks Games. He serves on the Board of Directors of the JCC-Rockland and has devoted over a decade to coaching youth sports in Rockland County. Mike was recognized by the County of Rockland as well as the American Association for Justice for his distinguished service in providing free legal representation through the Trial Lawyers Care program for families of victims of the September 11th attacks. He represents clients across a wide range of legal practice areas.

Related Posts