California Rideshare Insurance: Know Which Clock Is Running
Current 2026 TNC limits, personal-policy rules, and a practical app-on coverage review.
California defines a transportation network company, or TNC, around prearranged passenger transportation using an online platform and personal vehicles. Food delivery, courier work, taxi or limousine service, and peer-to-peer vehicle sharing can follow different contracts and laws. Tell the insurer every app and activity. Coverage can change at login, ride acceptance, passenger entry, passenger exit, and transaction completion.
California’s 2026 TNC insurance periods
The current requirements are in Public Utilities Code section 5433. These are statutory minimums for TNC insurance, not a description of every platform policy or every loss.
- App off — The TNC statute is not the coverage source. The driver’s personal or other applicable auto policy governs under its own terms, subject to California’s ordinary financial-responsibility rules.
- Logged on, no request accepted — TNC insurance must be primary with at least $50,000 bodily injury per person, $100,000 bodily injury per incident, and $30,000 property damage. The TNC must also maintain at least $200,000 per occurrence in excess coverage for liability above those limits.
- Request accepted through transaction or ride completion — TNC insurance must be primary in the amount of $1,000,000 for death, personal injury, and property damage.
- Passenger in the vehicle — The TNC must provide primary uninsured- and underinsured-motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident from passenger entry through passenger exit.
What SB 371 changed on January 1, 2026
Senate Bill 371, Chapter 314 of 2025, reduced the required passenger-period UM/UIM amount from $1,000,000 to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident and made that coverage the TNC’s obligation. It did not reduce the separate $1,000,000 primary liability requirement that runs from ride acceptance through completion. The UM/UIM minimum applies specifically while the passenger is in the vehicle; it should not be described as a million-dollar-to-60/300 reduction for every app-on moment or every injury to the driver.
Your personal policy does not automatically fill the gaps
Public Utilities Code section 5434 says a personal auto policy does not provide coverage while the driver is logged on through passenger exit unless the policy expressly provides it or includes a suitable amendment or endorsement. It also says the personal insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify the TNC activity unless the policy expressly provides otherwise. A ‘rideshare endorsement’ is therefore not a magic label. Read what it covers, which apps qualify, which periods apply, whether it includes physical damage, and how deductibles and limits interact with the TNC policy.
Review the coverages the statutory minimum does not settle
California’s statutory TNC requirements focus on liability and the specified passenger-period UM/UIM coverage. They do not by themselves promise collision, comprehensive, medical payments, rental reimbursement, roadside service, income replacement, or broad UM/UIM protection for the driver in every period. A platform may offer additional protection under current terms, often with conditions or deductibles, but those terms can change. Obtain the current platform certificate or policy summary and compare it with the issued personal endorsement.
- Liability limits and defense — Identify the exact period, primary or excess status, and who has the duty to defend.
- Damage to the driver’s car — Confirm whether collision or comprehensive applies, which underlying personal coverage is required, and the deductible.
- Driver and occupant injuries — Review medical payments, UM/UIM, health coverage coordination, and any platform benefits without assuming one substitutes for another.
- Rental or loan balance — Check rental reimbursement and any gap or lease requirements separately; neither follows automatically from liability coverage.
- Delivery and multi-app use — List every passenger and delivery app. Do not assume a TNC endorsement covers delivery or that two simultaneously active platforms resolve priority the same way.
- Vehicle ownership and use — Disclose a leased, financed, rented, shared, or business-owned vehicle and check the contract’s permitted use.
Build a useful coverage packet
- Personal auto declarations, endorsements, exclusions, vehicle identification number, and named drivers
- Every platform used, including passenger, delivery, courier, or other paid-driving activity
- Current platform insurance certificate or policy summary and the driver agreement
- Typical weekly app-on mileage, annual total mileage, territory, hours, and whether driving is full-time or occasional
- Vehicle loan or lease requirements and the current value used for the physical-damage decision
- Prior claims, violations, suspensions, coverage lapses, and the requested effective date
Document the period after a collision
After addressing safety and required reporting, preserve screenshots of each app’s status, request and trip timestamps, passenger status, messages, photographs, witnesses, and report information. Notify the platform and potentially applicable insurers under their procedures. Keep copies and do not alter app records; the period facts can determine which policy responds. This is a documentation checklist, not legal advice.
What are California’s app-on, no-ride-accepted TNC limits in 2026?
The primary liability minimum is 50,000 dollars per person, 100,000 dollars per incident for bodily injury, and 30,000 dollars for property damage. The TNC must also maintain at least 200,000 dollars per occurrence in excess liability coverage for that period.
Did California reduce every rideshare policy from one million dollars to 60/300?
No. SB 371 reduced the required uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage while a passenger is in the vehicle. The separate one-million-dollar primary liability requirement from ride acceptance through completion remains.
Does a personal auto policy cover a driver whenever the rideshare app is on?
Not automatically. California law says the personal policy provides no coverage during the TNC period unless it expressly provides that coverage or has an applicable amendment or endorsement.
Is food delivery covered by the California TNC requirements?
Do not assume so. The TNC statute is defined around prearranged passenger transportation. Delivery activity may be governed by different platform and insurance terms, so disclose each app and use.
Auto Insurance
Review liability, physical damage, UM/UIM, deductibles, and driver disclosures.
Review auto coverage →California Minimum Limits
Understand the ordinary 30/60/15 liability floor and choices beyond it.
Read the limits guide →Personal Umbrella
Confirm whether paid driving is excluded and which underlying policies qualify.
Review umbrella coverage →Primary sources reviewed August 11, 2026: California Public Utilities Code sections 5431, 5433, and 5434; SB 371 chaptered text; CDI notice to TNC drivers; and California DMV insurance requirements. General information only—not legal advice, a binder, or a guarantee of coverage, price, eligibility, or claim payment. Current statutes and issued policies control.