Rideshare Gap Insurance · Uber and Lyft Period 1 in NJ Waiting for a Ride Request Is Where the Gap Is Widest
Rideshare gap insurance exists for one stretch of your shift more than any other: the app is on, you're waiting for a ping, and no ride is accepted yet. Your own policy can step out, the app's policy is at its smallest, and nobody is required to fix your car.
Jeff Friedlander reads every review, starting with Period 1.
Your car, waiting for a ping
Generic example- App off
- Period 1
- Period 2
- Period 3
01 · What the law requires
What New Jersey Requires While You Wait for a Ride Request
N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(b) covers the time you're logged on and "available to receive a prearranged ride request" but not on a ride. The statute never calls it Period 1. That's the industry's name for it.
| Coverage | Required minimum | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| LiabilityFor people you hurt | $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident bodily injury; $25,000 property damage | Pays others, not you. It's higher than New Jersey's $35,000 / $70,000 / $25,000 minimum for a personal policy. |
| PIPYour medical bills | Primary PIP, at the amounts selected under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4 | The law requires it from the driver, the company or both. Uber's New Jersey certificate doesn't list it, so your own PIP matters. |
| UM/UIMIf the other driver can't pay | "To the extent required" for a personal policy: today $35,000 / $70,000 bodily injury and $25,000 property damage | The bare personal minimum. Uber's certificate shows exactly those figures for this stage. |
| Your own carComprehensive and collision | Nothing | The law doesn't require anyone to cover your car, in this stage or any other. |
Who Has to Carry It
The statute says the driver, the app company, "or any combination of the two." In practice Uber and Lyft carry it.
If your own coverage has lapsed or falls short, the company's insurance must pay "beginning with the first dollar of a claim" and defend you. It also can't make the claim wait for your personal insurer to deny it first.
Source: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10(a), (d), (e).
02 · Where drivers get hurt
Why Period 1 Is the Biggest Gap
Picture it. You're parked outside a train station with the app on, waiting. Someone backs into your door. No ride was accepted, so the $1.5 million tier never switched on. Three things now decide who pays.
Your Car Has Nobody Behind It
Uber's insurance page says there's "no Uber-maintained collision or comprehensive coverage" if you're "online but haven't yet accepted a trip." New Jersey's law doesn't require anyone to cover your car in any stage. So the repair falls to your personal policy, if it will answer.
Sources: Uber insurance page · N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10.
Your Own Policy May Not Answer
N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12 says a New Jersey insurer "may exclude any and all coverage" while you're logged on, and it lists liability, PIP, UM/UIM, medical payments, comprehensive and collision. That's permission, not a rule every policy uses. The insurer doesn't need any particular wording to do it, and nothing in the section requires it to warn you. The standard ISO personal auto form excludes the time you're logged into a "transportation network platform" as a driver, "whether or not a passenger is 'occupying' the vehicle," and many insurers use similar wording.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12 · ISO PP 00 01 09 18, exclusion A.5. More on the rideshare exclusion.
The App's Policy Protects Other People
What Uber or Lyft carries in Period 1 is mostly about the people you might hit. Anything above $50,000 per person, plus your own repair bill, can land on you. The UM/UIM required for you sits at the personal-policy minimum, and whether your PIP comes from the app's policy or your own is worth asking before you need it.
There's No Pretending the App Was Off
New Jersey requires the rideshare markers on your windshield and rear window whenever you're logged on. In a claims investigation, the app company must hand over "the precise times" you logged on and off in the 12 hours before and after the accident. The period is decided from the records, not from memory.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-23 · N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12(c).
You Were Told, in Writing
Before you could accept your first ride, the law required the app company to tell you that your own policy "may or may not provide any coverage" while you're logged on. Uber's page says extra rideshare insurance is "not required for you to sign up to drive with Uber." Both statements are true. Neither one means you're covered.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-11 · Uber insurance page.
And if your insurer finds out later? It may decline to renew your policy, and if you gave false information on an application or a claim, it may have grounds to cancel. We explain the 2026 state finding behind that on our New Jersey rideshare law page.
This is general information about New Jersey law, not legal advice. For your own situation, talk to your own attorney.
Period 1, Coverage by Coverage
With a personal policy that has no rideshare option. Generic example.
- People you hit
- $50k/$100k/$25k from the app
- Your medical bills
- PIP required, but whose?
- An underinsured driver hits you
- UM/UIM at the $35k/$70k floor
- Your car
- Nothing required, nothing from Uber
- Your own policy
- Can exclude any and all coverage
03 · What fills the gap
What the Right Endorsement Changes in Period 1
The same statute that lets your insurer exclude logged-on time also lets it sell the fix. Nothing in N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12 stops an insurer from "providing primary or excess coverage by contract or endorsement" while you're logged on or on a ride. That's the rideshare endorsement: an add-on to your personal auto policy.
In Period 1, the way these endorsements are usually written, it does three things:
- Carries your own liability coverage into the wait, usually excess over the app's $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000.
- Puts your own comprehensive and collision back to work on your car, at your own deductible, if you carry them.
- Usually extends your medical and UM coverage to you as the driver.
That's why even the simplest rideshare option helps here. The real difference between endorsements shows up after you accept a ride. A Period-1-only design stops at acceptance. An all-periods design keeps going and pays the difference between the app's $2,500 deductible and yours. That part is on our Periods 2 and 3 page.
Endorsement terms vary by insurance company, coverage depends on the policy's actual forms and endorsements, and the endorsement wording governs. Some name delivery apps and some don't.
Two Common Designs, Period by Period
What the endorsement itself adds once the app is on.
The way these are usually written. Wording varies by insurance company and the endorsement form governs. Statute: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12.
04 · Questions to ask
Five Period 1 Questions for Any Agent
Ask them about the policy you have now and about anything you're offered. If the answer is "it depends," ask to see the form.
Have This Ready
- Your current declarations page Every page, including endorsements
- Which apps you drive for And whether you also deliver food or packages
- Who else drives the car Anyone in the household who uses an app too
- Does my current policy exclude the time I'm logged on? Can you show me the exact wording?
- When does the rideshare coverage you're offering start: at log-on, or only once I accept a ride?
- Does it put my collision and comprehensive back on my car while I'm waiting, and at what deductible?
- Does it extend my PIP and UM/UIM to me as the driver in Period 1?
- Does it stop when I accept a ride, or keep going through drop-off?
FAQ
Period 1 Questions from New Jersey Drivers
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, call and ask.
What is rideshare gap insurance?
It's the everyday name for a rideshare endorsement: an add-on to your personal auto policy that covers some or all of the time the app is on. Its main job is Period 1, after you log on and before you accept a ride, when your own policy can exclude you and the app's coverage is at its smallest. What it covers, and in which periods, depends on the insurance company's wording.
What is Uber Period 1?
It's what drivers and insurers call the time the Uber or Lyft app is on and you're available, but you haven't accepted a ride. New Jersey requires at least $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 of liability, plus PIP and UM/UIM, during this stage, and nothing for your own car.
Does Uber cover my car while I'm waiting for a ride request?
No. Uber's insurance page says there is no Uber-maintained collision or comprehensive coverage while you're online but haven't accepted a trip. Damage to your car in Period 1 falls to your own policy, which can exclude logged-on time unless you've added rideshare coverage.
Will my personal insurance cover me in Period 1?
It may not. New Jersey law lets your personal insurer exclude any and all coverage while you're logged on, with no special wording required. Some policies use that permission and some offer a rideshare option. The only way to know is to read your policy's exclusions and endorsements.
Read next
Where to Go From Period 1
| Page | Why read it |
|---|---|
| Periods 2 and 3Ride accepted to drop-off | What happens after you accept: the $1.5M, the $10,000 and the $2,500 deductible. |
| Rideshare endorsementsHow the add-on is built | The limited-versus-enhanced difference, in plain English. |
| The rideshare exclusionN.J.S.A. 39:5H-12 | How to find the logged-on exclusion in your own policy. |
Free review · about 10 minutes
Find Out What Your Policy Does While You Wait
Send your declarations page and tell us which apps you drive for. We'll show you what answers in Period 1 today, and what a rideshare endorsement would change. No cost. No pressure.
Prefer to talk? Call (908) 730-6443. You'll reach a rideshare specialist, not a call center.