Guide · Uber Accident, Driver's Side What to Do After a Crash With the App On

The First Hour, Step by Step

Most of what decides a rideshare claim gets settled in the first hour, by what you record and who you tell. In order:

1. 1
   Stop and check on everyone

   You, your rider if you had one, and the other car. If anyone is hurt, call 911 and let police and paramedics run the scene. Nothing an insurer needs comes before that.

2. 2
   Capture what the app shows

   Before you close or change anything in the driver app, take a screenshot: whether you were online, whether you had accepted a request, and the trip details. The app company keeps the official record, but your screenshot shows what you saw at that minute.

3. 3
   Document the scene

   Photos of every vehicle, plate and damaged area, plus the road, signs and signals. Get the other driver's name, license, insurance company and policy number, and the names and phone numbers of any witnesses. Ask for the police report number.

4. 4
   Stick to facts

   Tell the police and the other driver what happened, not whose fault it was or what your insurance will do. If you're asked whether you were driving for an app, answer truthfully: New Jersey requires a TNC driver to tell the people directly involved, insurers and investigating officers, on request, whether they were logged on or providing a ride.

5. 5
   Report it to the app

   Report the crash to Uber or Lyft as soon as you safely can, whatever period you were in. If you were logged on, their insurance may be involved, and they hold the records that place you in a period.

6. 6
   Report it to your own insurer

   Do this even if you were on a trip. A rideshare endorsement may pay your deductible gap, your medical bills or a rental, and it can't respond to a claim it never hears about. Your policy's own conditions set how quickly you must report, so don't wait.

7. 7
   Call your agent, or us

   Someone who knows the periods can tell you which policy should respond first and what to send each insurer. That's the call we take.

Disclosure rule: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(h).

Who Pays First Depends on the Period

"Period 1, 2 and 3" is industry shorthand. The statute itself talks about being logged on and available, and about providing a prearranged ride, which begins the moment you accept a request. Here's how that maps onto a claim.

Two rules in the statute work in your favor once a ride is involved. The coverage New Jersey requires during app time is primary, and if a driver's own coverage has lapsed or falls short, the app company's insurance must pay from the first dollar and defend the claim. The app's insurer also can't make the claim wait for your personal insurer to deny it first.

If your car is financed or leased, a payment from the app company's insurer for damage to it goes to the repair shop or jointly to you and your lender.

And one reason your liability limits matter so much during a ride: New Jersey says a TNC driver can't rely on the injured person's limitation-on-lawsuit election as a defense in a suit arising from a prearranged ride.

Source: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(d), (e), (i) and (j).

How the Period Gets Proven

Adjusters don't take anyone's word for which period it was. They use the app's records, and New Jersey makes those records available.

Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12 · N.J.S.A. 39:5H-25.

Disputes usually come down to minutes. Had you accepted the request before the impact, or a few seconds after? Period 2 starts at acceptance, not when the rider gets in, so the difference can move a claim from the lowest tier of coverage to the highest. Your screenshot from the scene and the app's log are how that question gets answered. It's also why we tell drivers to be upfront with their own insurer: the records will show the app was on.

If You Were Hurt: Medical Bills

New Jersey is a no-fault state for medical bills. On a standard personal policy, your auto PIP pays first by default, regardless of fault, unless you elected your health plan as primary. The standard policy's PIP medical limit is $250,000 unless you chose a lower option in writing.

Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4 · N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.3.

App time changes the picture. While you're logged on and waiting, the coverage the law requires includes primary PIP; which policy provides it in your case depends on your own policy, any endorsement and the app's coverage, so report the injury to both. During a ride, the law requires at least $10,000 of medical payments coverage for you as the driver. If another driver caused the crash and can't pay, it also requires $1,500,000 of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Source: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b) and (c).

Watch the deadlines. Lyft's insurance page says that in New Jersey, effective October 1, 2026, its UM/UIM policy gives you two years from the accident, or one year after you knew or reasonably should have known the other vehicle was underinsured, to bring a legal action against the carrier. That's a policy deadline, and one more reason to talk to your own attorney early if you were hurt.

Source: Lyft, driver insurance page, retrieved November 2026.

Getting Your Car Fixed

This is where drivers feel the periods most. While you're online without an accepted trip, Uber says there's no Uber-maintained collision or comprehensive coverage at all, so your own policy, and whether it covers app time, is the whole story. Once a trip is accepted, Uber's and Lyft's coverage for your car is contingent on your own policy carrying comprehensive and collision, pays up to actual cash value and comes with a $2,500 deductible.

An enhanced-style endorsement may pay the difference between that deductible and yours. A limited one usually doesn't. And if you need a rental while the car is in the shop, Uber's answer to that question on its insurance page is "No, it won't." Some endorsements include rental, sometimes only if it's already on your base policy. Every day the car sits is a day you aren't driving, so this is worth checking before you need it. See how endorsements treat each period. Endorsement terms vary by insurance company, and coverage depends on the policy's actual forms and endorsements.

Sources: Uber driver insurance page · Lyft driver insurance page, retrieved November 2026.

What to Have Ready

Every insurer involved will ask for some version of this list. Keep it in one place.

• Your screenshot of the driver app Online status, accepted request, trip details
• Date, time and exact location of the crash
• Photos of every vehicle, plate and the scene
• The other driver's name, license, insurance company, policy number and plate
• Witness names and phone numbers
• The police report number and the officer's name
• Your declarations page and any rideshare endorsement The form itself, not just the summary
• The app's certificate of insurance Uber: Driver app menu, Account, then Insurance
• Claim numbers from the app and from each insurer
• Medical records, bills and receipts, if you were hurt
• Repair estimates and towing receipts

Where Uber's certificates are: Uber driver insurance page.

Injury claims and lawsuits are legal territory. This guide explains which insurance is likely in play; for your rights after a crash, talk to your own attorney about your situation.