Yes. Effective January 1, 2026, California lowered the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage that rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft must carry for a ride, from $1,000,000 to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, while leaving the $1,000,000 liability coverage and the waiting-period amounts unchanged.
What SB 371 Actually Changed in Public Utilities Code 5433
California’s Public Utilities Code 5433 sets the insurance a transportation network company, or TNC, such as Uber or Lyft, must carry for a ride. The statute’s own text confirms it was “Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 314, Sec. 3. (SB 371). Effective January 1, 2026,” and that amendment lowered the uninsured and underinsured motorist, or UM/UIM, coverage a TNC must carry during a ride from $1,000,000 to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. SB 371 also made that UM/UIM coverage solely the obligation of the rideshare company, rather than something a driver’s own policy could be used to satisfy.
This UM/UIM requirement runs from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle until the passenger exits it. That $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident is what the rideshare company’s own policy must provide toward injuries suffered during that window when the at-fault driver who caused the crash carries no insurance, or not enough, to cover the loss. That is narrower than the separate $1,000,000 liability coverage described below, which starts earlier, when the driver accepts the ride request. A rideshare driver hit by an uninsured driver while on the way to a pickup, with nobody in the car yet, is outside this UM/UIM window, and different coverage applies. The amendment does not apply retroactively to crashes that happened before January 1, 2026. If your crash was in 2025 or earlier, the $1,000,000 figure is the one that applies to you, but time limits for filing still run from the date of the crash.
What Did Not Change: the $1 Million Liability Coverage and the Waiting-Period Limits
Inside Public Utilities Code 5433, SB 371 rewrote only the uninsured and underinsured motorist paragraph. The $1,000,000 primary liability coverage that a TNC must carry once a ride is accepted, the amount available to pay for injuries the rideshare driver causes to someone else, including a passenger, is still in the current statute at that same figure.
The statute also sets a separate, lower tier of coverage for the time a driver is logged into the app with no ride accepted, both before accepting a request and after one ride ends until the driver accepts another or logs off: at least $50,000 per person, at least $100,000 per incident, and at least $30,000 for property damage, with at least $200,000 in excess coverage on top. SB 371’s description of what it amended covers only the during-a-ride UM/UIM figure, so this waiting-period tier stands as written. Coverage under Public Utilities Code 5433 also cannot be made contingent on a driver’s personal auto insurer denying the claim first.
Why the Lower UM/UIM Limit Matters If You’re Hit by an Uninsured or Hit-and-Run Driver
If you were in an Uber or Lyft as a passenger when an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver caused the crash, the TNC’s own UM/UIM coverage is what is supposed to respond, since the at-fault driver cannot pay on their own policy. Before January 1, 2026, the required amount was $1,000,000. Since that date, the required minimum is $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident.
That is a real reduction in the coverage the rideshare company is required to carry for an injury caused by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver. That same paragraph states the coverage is primary over any other applicable uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and is solely the obligation of the rideshare company. It does not change the $1,000,000 liability figure described above, which applies from the moment a driver accepts a ride request until the ride is complete. Whether $60,000 is enough for a given injury, and what other coverage might apply, depends on the facts of the crash and the policies involved.
Was the driver who hit you uninsured, underinsured, or gone before you got a license plate?
The coverage for exactly that situation is lower now than it was before January 2026.
Why Many Pages Online Still Show the Old $1 Million Figure
SB 371 was chaptered on October 3, 2025, and the amendment to Public Utilities Code 5433 became effective January 1, 2026. Any page written or published before that date was describing the law accurately as it stood at the time, when the UM/UIM figure genuinely was $1,000,000.
A page that has not been revised since has not caught up to the amendment, so it keeps repeating a figure that is no longer current. When you read about rideshare insurance online, check whether the page even acknowledges the January 2026 change, since the statute itself, not any one article, is the only reliable source for the current number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did California change rideshare insurance laws in 2026? Yes. Effective January 1, 2026, Public Utilities Code 5433 was amended by SB 371 to lower the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage a rideshare company must carry during a ride from $1,000,000 to $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. The $1,000,000 liability coverage for a crash the rideshare driver causes was not changed.
What is SB 371 in California? SB 371 is the 2025 bill, chaptered as Chapter 314 of the Statutes of 2025, that amended Public Utilities Code 5433 to reduce the UM/UIM coverage rideshare companies must carry during a ride and made that coverage the rideshare company’s sole responsibility. It took effect January 1, 2026.
Does Uber still have $1 million insurance coverage in California? Yes, for liability. The $1,000,000 primary coverage that applies once a ride is accepted, the amount available if the rideshare driver is at fault for a crash, was not changed by the 2026 amendment. Only the separate UM/UIM figure, for crashes caused by an uninsured or underinsured driver, was lowered.
How much uninsured motorist coverage must a rideshare company like Uber or Lyft carry now? As of January 1, 2026, it is $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident while a passenger is in the vehicle, down from $1,000,000. This is the amount the rideshare company’s own policy pays when the driver who caused the crash has no insurance or not enough.
If you were hurt in a rideshare vehicle, whether the crash involved an uninsured driver, a hit-and-run, or the rideshare driver’s own fault, which coverage applies depends on which part of Public Utilities Code 5433 fits your situation. Speaking with someone about the specific facts of your crash costs nothing upfront, since there is no fee unless we win. If there is no recovery, no case costs are charged either. Call 310-600-7881 for a free case review, or send us the details and we will call you back.
