A bill that would require every Uber and Lyft car to be insured in Florida has passed the Florida House of Representatives. On 1/27/16, HB 509 was passed by Florida’s House of Representatives.
Here is the impact that this bill will have on Florida Uber and Lyft drivers and passengers’ car accident claims.
Requires Bodily Injury Liability and PIP Insurance on Uber and Lyft Cars
Uber and Lyft currently have insurance policies that cover their drivers. The policies have bodily injury (“BI”) liability coverage. They’ve added this coverage voluntarily.
This bill will require Uber and Lyft cars to have BI liability insurance.
If Driver is NOT Engaged in Transportation
If the participating driver is logged into Uber or Lyft’s network and is available to receive transportation requests but is not engaged in transportation network company service, the bill requires the car to have the following insurance:
- $50,000 for death and bodily injury per person, $100,000 for death and bodily injury per incident
- PIP is required
The taxi cab companies feel that this $50,000 BI liability per person is too low. This is because taxis in Florida must carry $125,000 in BI liability insurance.
If Driver is Engaged in Transportation
If the participating Uber or Lyft driver is engaged in transportation network company service then the following auto insurance applies:
- $1 million for death, bodily injury and property damage; and
- PIP is required
That $1 million BI limit is huge.
Currently, Uber’s Florida insurance policy doesn’t say that it includes PIP coverage. Lyft’s insurance policy has PIP.
The bill requires them to have PIP.
No Uninsured Motorist Insurance Required
This bill doesn’t require Uber or Lyft cars to carry any uninsured motorist (“UM”) insurance. Currently, both Lyft and Uber voluntarily carry $1 million in UM insurance only when the driver is driver is engaged in the transportation network company service.
That UM limit is huge. It will be interesting to see if they reduce the amount or drop this UM insurance if this bill becomes law.
The Senate currently has its own bill pending. That bill is more similar to the insurance laws that apply to taxis.
Both bills need to pass for the bills to become law.
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