A crash in a rideshare car raises a question that an ordinary fender-bender does not. Was the app on? Had a trip been accepted? The answers change the insurance that Pennsylvania law requires the transportation network company, or the driver, to carry.
The rule is section 2603.1 of Title 66. It is written around two periods. One is when the driver is logged on to the digital network and available to receive transportation requests, but is not engaged in a prearranged ride. The other is when the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. Coverage during those periods is primary, and it is not supposed to depend on a personal auto insurer denying the claim first.
Logged on, but no ride yet
Unless otherwise required by order or regulation of the commission, section 2603.1(a)(2) requires the following while a participating driver is logged on and available but is not engaged in a prearranged ride. Primary automobile liability insurance in the amount of at least $50,000 for death and bodily injury per person, $100,000 for death and bodily injury per incident, and $25,000 for property damage. First-party medical benefits, including $25,000 for pedestrians and $5,000 for a driver.
Those requirements may be satisfied by insurance the driver maintains, insurance the company maintains, or a combination of the two.
Once a prearranged ride is underway
Section 2603.1(a)(3) raises the floor while the driver is engaged in a prearranged ride. Primary automobile liability insurance must provide at least $500,000 for death, bodily injury and property damage. First-party medical benefits as required by 75 Pa.C.S. ยง 1711 must be provided on a per-incident basis, including $25,000 for passengers and pedestrians and $5,000 for a driver.
Again, the coverage may be the driver’s, the company’s, or a combination. If insurance maintained by the driver under either paragraph has lapsed or does not provide the required coverage, insurance maintained by the transportation network company shall provide the coverage from the first dollar, and that insurer has the duty to defend the claim, under section 2603.1(a)(4). Subsection (a)(5) says this coverage is primary and shall not be dependent on a personal automobile insurer first denying a claim.
Proof at the scene, and what you should save
Section 2603.1(a)(9) requires a driver to carry proof of the coverage that satisfies the logged-on and prearranged-ride paragraphs when using a vehicle in connection with a digital network. In the event of an accident, the driver shall provide that proof to the directly interested parties, automobile insurers and investigating police officers, and shall also disclose whether the driver had the app on, or was already in a dispatched trip, when the wreck happened.
If you were a passenger, a pedestrian or the other driver, write down what you are told at the scene, and keep screenshots of the trip, the driver’s name in the app, the time and the pickup or drop-off points. App status is a fact question. It is also the fact that chooses which coverage floor applies. Our first-week guide puts that step next to the rest of the early file.
How this sits with the rest of Pennsylvania law
Section 2603.1(a)(8) says insurance that satisfies the section is deemed to satisfy the financial-responsibility requirement for a motor vehicle under 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 17. It does not erase limited tort, comparative negligence or the two-year deadline. A passenger or pedestrian who is not bound by a limited-tort election may have a different noneconomic-loss path than a driver who is, under section 1705. Our limited tort guide explains that election.
First-party medical benefits paid under the rideshare coverage are still subject to the overlap rule in section 1722 when you later claim against a tortfeasor or make a UM or UIM claim. The six-month government statement in section 5522 still applies if a public vehicle was also involved. The two-year period in section 5524 still applies to the negligence action.
Personal auto policies sometimes try to exclude coverage while a driver has the app on or is in the middle of a dispatched trip. Section 2603.1(b) addresses those exclusions. The company’s or driver’s required coverage is still supposed to be in place. A lawyer can sort out which policy is actually first in line on a given night.
If you were hurt in a Philadelphia rideshare crash, treat app status as evidence to preserve, not as a detail to remember later.
Pedestrians and other drivers in the same crash
The first-party medical amounts in section 2603.1 are written with pedestrians, passengers and the driver in mind. While the driver is logged on but not in a prearranged ride, the medical benefit for a pedestrian is $25,000 and the medical benefit for the driver is $5,000. Once a prearranged ride is underway, the $25,000 figure applies to passengers and pedestrians, and the $5,000 figure still applies to the driver, on a per-incident basis, along with the required benefits in section 1711.
If you were driving the other car, your own first-party medical benefit under section 1711 may also apply, and you may have a liability claim against the rideshare coverage that section 2603.1 requires. If you were walking, you may have both the rideshare medical benefit named in the statute and a fault claim against the driver or the company, subject to the same two-year deadline and, if a public vehicle was also involved, the six-month statement.
Do not assume a personal auto policy will fill every gap, and do not assume it will be silent. The required rideshare coverage is supposed to be primary. Sorting the policies is work for a Pennsylvania lawyer with the app data, the crash report and the declarations pages in hand.
Then read the tort option, open the first-party claim that applies, and calendar the same deadlines you would calendar after any other crash.