Rideshare Endorsement in New Jersey What It Adds to Your Policy, and Where It Stops
A rideshare endorsement is an add-on to your personal auto policy that keeps some or all of your coverage working once the Uber or Lyft app is on. Two drivers can both say they have one and be covered very differently, because the wording decides which periods it reaches.
Endorsement terms vary by insurance company, and the form on your policy governs. We read the form before we tell you what it does.
Two endorsements, one shift
Generic example- App off
- Period 1
- Period 2
- Period 3
01 · What it is
What Is Rideshare Insurance, and Where the Endorsement Fits
Rideshare insurance isn't one policy. It's two layers that take turns: the coverage the app has to carry, and whatever your own policy is set up to do while the app is on.
When drivers ask what rideshare insurance is, they usually mean one of two things. The first is the coverage Uber and Lyft carry, which New Jersey requires from the moment you log on until your last rider gets out. The second is a rideshare endorsement: a few added lines on your own policy that tell your insurer to keep covering you, in some or all periods, while you work.
You need to understand both, because your personal policy on its own may do nothing once you log on. New Jersey lets your insurer exclude any and all coverage during app time. The same section of the law lets insurers sell coverage for that time "by contract or endorsement," either primary or excess. The endorsement is the industry's answer to the exclusion.
Source: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12. More on the rideshare exclusion in your personal policy.
Uber is upfront that extra rideshare coverage is "not required for you to sign up to drive with Uber." That's true, and it answers a different question. Being allowed to drive and being covered while you drive are two separate things, and only the second one matters on the day of a crash.
Source: Uber, driver insurance page, retrieved November 2026.
An endorsement doesn't replace the app's insurance. It sits alongside it, and most are written to pay after the app's coverage, not before. The table below shows what the law says about each layer.
| Layer | What New Jersey law says | What that leaves you |
|---|---|---|
| The app's policyUber or Lyft, while you're logged on | Logged on and waiting: $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 liability, plus PIP and UM/UIM. From acceptance to drop-off: $1,500,000 liability, $10,000 medical payments for you and $1,500,000 UM/UIM. | Large limits for other people once a ride is accepted. Nothing required for your own car in any period. |
| Your personal policyNo rideshare option | Your insurer "may exclude any and all coverage" while you're logged on or providing a ride, and needs no particular policy language to do it. | It may not respond at all once the app is on. Whether it does depends on its wording. |
| A rideshare endorsementAdded to your personal policy | Insurers may provide "primary or excess coverage by contract or endorsement" for logged-on and ride time. | Fills or narrows the gap, depending on how the endorsement is written. |
02 · Where drivers get hurt
What You're Left With If You Have No Endorsement
The app's coverage is built to protect riders and the public. What it does for you and your car is thinner, and while you wait for a request it's thinnest.
Logged On, Waiting for a Request
The app's liability coverage is the state minimum for this stretch: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. For your car, Uber's own page says there is no Uber-maintained collision or comprehensive coverage while you're online but haven't accepted a trip. If your personal policy excludes app time and you have no endorsement, the dent from a parking-lot fender bender is yours to pay for.
Ride Accepted, Through Drop-Off
Uber's and Lyft's New Jersey certificates both show $1,500,000 of liability here. Their coverage for your car is contingent: it pays up to the car's actual cash value after a $2,500 deductible, and only if your own policy carries comprehensive and collision. Uber also says its insurance won't pay for a rental while your car is being fixed.
Your Own Injuries
During a ride the law requires $1,500,000 of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which matters if another driver causes the crash and can't pay. If nobody else is at fault, the law requires only $10,000 of medical payments for you.
Sources: N.J.S.A. 39:5H-10 · Uber driver insurance page · Uber NJ certificate of insurance · Lyft driver insurance page · Lyft NJ certificate of insurance.
No Endorsement: Where It Leaves You
- Waiting: your liability
- State minimum from the app
- Waiting: your car
- Nothing from Uber
- On a ride: your car
- $2,500 deductible, if you carry comp and collision
- On a ride: your injuries
- $10,000 medical payments if no one else is at fault
- After a crash: a rental
- Uber says it won't pay
Generic example, not a client. Figures from the sources at left.
03 · Limited vs enhanced
Limited vs Enhanced Rideshare Endorsements, Side by Side
These are the two designs you'll see most, described the way they're usually written. Names vary by insurance company, some call the first one "basic," and no company's form is quoted here.
| What it does | A typical limited endorsement | A typical enhanced endorsement |
|---|---|---|
| Liability | Extends your personal liability from log-on until you accept a ride, then stops | Also adds coverage excess over the app's after you accept a ride |
| Your car while waitingPeriod 1 | Usually your own comprehensive and collision, at your own deductible, if you carry them | Same |
| Deductible gapPeriods 2 and 3 | Not included. You pay the app's deductible, $2,500 on Uber's and Lyft's NJ certificates | Pays the difference between the app's deductible and your personal deductible |
| Your medical and UM | Period 1, usually for you as the driver | May continue for you in later periods; riders usually excluded |
| Rental and towing | Varies | Some apply in all periods, only if you carry them on the base policy |
| How it pays | Usually excess over the app's insurance | Same |
| Delivery apps | Inconsistent: some forms include delivery, some exclude it, many are silent | Same |
| Full-time or black-car driving | Often limited to part-time drivers; black-car services excluded | Same |
Your Car and Your Own Injuries, by Period
Thin means you're relying on the app's coverage alone: its deductible for your car, its minimums for your injuries. Wording varies and the endorsement form governs.
The bottom lineA limited endorsement is built for the wait. An enhanced one follows you onto the ride.
Why the difference matters: every paid trip runs from the moment you accept the request to the moment your rider gets out, and that is exactly the stretch where a limited endorsement stops. A limited option is far better than nothing in Period 1, the least protected part of the shift. It just isn't the same as coverage that follows you onto the ride. Coverage depends on the policy's actual forms and endorsements, which is why we read the form itself before we tell you what it covers. See what Period 1 leaves open and your car in Periods 2 and 3.
05 · Before you buy
Seven Questions to Ask About Any Rideshare Endorsement
An endorsement's name tells you very little. These seven answers tell you what it does.
Already Have One?
Send us your declarations page and we'll check which of these your endorsement answers, and which it leaves open. Or call (908) 730-6443.
- Which periods does it cover?
Ask exactly where it stops: when you accept a request, when a rider gets in, or at drop-off.
- Does it pay the deductible gap?
Uber's and Lyft's New Jersey certificates show a $2,500 deductible for your car during rides. Ask whether the endorsement pays the difference down to your own deductible.
- Is it excess or primary?
Most pay only after the app's insurance. Know which layer pays first in each period.
- Does my medical and UM coverage follow me onto the ride?
Some endorsements continue it for you as the driver in later periods. Riders are usually excluded.
- Are rental and towing included?
Ask in which periods, and whether they apply only if they're already on your base policy.
- Does it name the delivery apps I use?
If you also deliver for Uber Eats or DoorDash, get the answer in writing before you buy.
- Can I see the endorsement form itself?
A summary or a brochure describes the coverage; the form is what governs at claim time.
FAQ
Rideshare Endorsement Questions from New Jersey Drivers
Short answers. The rideshare insurance FAQ has more.
What is a rideshare endorsement?
An add-on to your personal auto policy that keeps some or all of your coverage working while you're logged on to Uber or Lyft, or on a ride. New Jersey lets insurers exclude app time from a personal policy and, in the same section, lets them sell coverage for it "by contract or endorsement" (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-12). What yours covers depends on its wording.
Can I buy just rideshare insurance?
Not usually, if you drive part-time. Rideshare coverage is normally an endorsement on a personal auto policy, and New Jersey requires proof of valid auto liability insurance before you can drive for a TNC (N.J.S.A. 39:5H-20). The app's own coverage applies during app time either way.
What's the difference between a limited and an enhanced rideshare endorsement?
The way they're usually written, a limited endorsement covers the waiting period and stops when you accept a ride. An enhanced one also adds coverage excess over the app's during rides, and pays the difference between the app's $2,500 deductible and yours. Terms vary by insurance company.
Does Uber require a rideshare endorsement?
No. Uber requires your own personal auto insurance, but says extra rideshare coverage is "not required for you to sign up to drive with Uber" (Uber's insurance page). Being allowed to sign up doesn't mean your personal policy will respond while the app is on.
Does a rideshare endorsement cover DoorDash or Uber Eats?
Some do and some don't. A New Jersey appeals court held that the rideshare law covers carrying passengers, not food delivery, and many endorsements are written around passengers too. DoorDash itself says a rideshare endorsement "may not provide complete vehicle coverage while dashing" (Dasher insurance page). Ask whether yours names the apps you use, and read the Malzberg v. Josey decision explained.
Read next
More on How Your Coverage Works
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| The rideshare exclusionN.J.S.A. 39:5H-12 | Why your personal policy may not respond once the app is on, and where the exclusion sits in the policy form. |
| The Period 1 gapApp on, no ride accepted | The least protected stretch of a shift, and what a limited endorsement is built to fill. |
| Full-time driversWhen the apps are your main job | Why endorsements are built for part-time driving, and when commercial auto is the conversation. |
Free review · about 10 minutes
Find Out Which Endorsement You Have, If Any
Send us your declarations page and tell us which apps you drive for. We'll tell you whether your policy has a rideshare endorsement, which periods it reaches and what it still leaves for you to pay.
Prefer to talk? Call (908) 730-6443. You'll reach a rideshare specialist, not a call center.