New Insurance Rules for California Ridesharing in Effect Today

The rules are in effect under Assembly Bill 2293, which was signed into law in September 2014.

The law stipulated divides ridesharing activities into three periods. Period one: App open and waiting for a match; Period two: Match accepted, but passenger not yet picked up; Period three: Passenger in the vehicle and until the passenger exits the vehicle.

AB 2293 requires:

• Regular personal auto insurance policies provide no coverage for TNC activities after
  July 1, 2015.
• The transportation network company to maintain $1 million in liability coverage from the time a match is accepted until the passenger exits the vehicle (periods two and three).
• The driver or the TNC company to maintain primary liability insurance in the pre-match period (period one).
• $50,000 minimum for injury to a single person
• $100,000 minimum for injury to multiple persons
• $30,000 minimum for property damage
• TNCs must also maintain $200,000 in excess insurance in the pre-match period.

"Closing insurance gaps in ride-sharing coverage is essential to making sure passengers, other drivers and pedestrians are protected when ride-sharing vehicles are on the road," California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement. "This new law is a good start and requires TNCs to provide liability coverage or make sure drivers have liability coverage during all periods the TNC application is on."

Jones encouraged insurers to develop new products that filled identified coverage gaps. To date, the department has approved new insurance products for Farmers Insurance and Metromile to cover ride-share drivers in the pre-match period.