Driving for an app in New York: where your own policy stops
The cars that carry Uber and DoorDash stickers around Albany are mostly insured on ordinary personal policies, and most of those policies stop paying the moment the app is switched on. The platforms carry something, the law makes them, but it's less than people assume and it leaves your own car out. Here is the map, period by period, and the cheap fix.
A standard New York personal auto policy can exclude coverage, including no-fault, from the moment you log into a rideshare app, and it excludes carrying goods for a fee, which is what delivery driving is. For rideshare outside New York City, state law (Vehicle and Traffic Law Article 44-B) makes the platform's group policy cover you: while the app is on and you're waiting for a request, at least $75,000 per person and $150,000 per accident for injuries and $25,000 for property damage, plus no-fault and uninsured-motorist coverage; from the moment you accept a trip until the passenger is out, $1,250,000 in liability and $1,250,000 in uninsured/underinsured coverage. The law requires no physical-damage coverage for your own car in any period; the platforms' optional collision coverage carries a high deductible and applies only during a trip. Delivery apps aren't covered by Article 44-B at all; what they provide is whatever their own contract says, usually liability only and only during an active delivery. The fix is a rideshare or delivery endorsement on your personal policy, or a commercial policy if driving is your main job.
The three periods, and who pays in each
| Period | Your personal policy (standard) | Platform's group policy (VTL Art. 44-B minimums) | Your own car |
|---|---|---|---|
| App off | Covers as usual | Nothing | Your collision / comprehensive |
| App on, waiting for a request | May exclude everything, including no-fault | $75,000 per person / $150,000 per accident bodily injury, $25,000 property damage; no-fault; uninsured motorist | Not covered unless your policy is endorsed |
| Request accepted → passenger dropped off | May exclude everything | $1,250,000 liability; $1,250,000 SUM; no-fault | Platform's optional collision: only if you carry collision on your own policy, high deductible |
| Delivery (DoorDash, Instacart, Flex…) | Excluded: carrying property for a fee | Not an Article 44-B activity; the app's own contract, usually liability during an active delivery only | Not covered |
Minimums are the law's; the platforms may carry more. Article 44-B does not apply to trips that begin in New York City, which has its own for-hire rules. Sources under the article.
Where the gaps actually are
- Your own car, in every app-on period. The law requires no physical-damage coverage. If you're rear-ended while waiting for a ping, the other driver's liability pays if they're insured and at fault; otherwise your unendorsed collision coverage may not respond.
- Waiting-period injuries. The platform's Period 1 coverage is the state minimum's larger cousin, not the $1.25 million; a serious at-fault crash while waiting can exceed 75/150 quickly, and your personal policy's higher limits may be excluded.
- The argument about which period you were in. Claims adjusters read the app log. If you'd just gone offline, or the passenger had just stepped out, two insurers can each point at the other. An endorsed personal policy removes the argument because one carrier covers all three periods.
- Delivery, entirely. No state law fills the gap; the platform contract does what it does. Treat delivery driving as business use of the car, because that's how the personal policy treats it.
The fix, in order of how much you drive
- A few hours a week: a rideshare or delivery endorsement on the personal policy. It extends your coverage, including collision and comprehensive, into the app-on periods. Several of the carriers I represent write one; not all cover delivery, so ask by app name.
- Most of your income: a commercial auto policy, or a hybrid personal/commercial product where a carrier offers it. Costs more, covers the car as the business asset it has become.
- Either way: disclose it. The application asks; a claim will check. An undisclosed app is the cheapest way to lose both the claim and the policy.
Related: auto insurance in New York for the base policy, the first hour after an accident for what to do at the scene (the app's trip record matters), and commercial auto if driving is the business.
- Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1693, financial responsibility for transportation network company vehicles (New York State Senate) — 75/150/25 while logged on; $1,250,000 liability and $1,250,000 SUM during a prearranged trip
- FAQ: about ride sharing / transportation network company services (NY DFS) — personal policy may exclude coverage including no-fault while logged on; no physical-damage requirement; Article 44-B does not apply to trips originating in New York City
- Vehicle and Traffic Law Article 44-B, transportation network company services (New York State Senate)
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Does my personal car insurance cover me while I drive for Uber or Lyft?
Usually not once the app is on. New York's Department of Financial Services says plainly that the policy you registered the car under may exclude coverage, including no-fault, while you're logged into a rideshare network. Between the personal policy's exclusion and the platform's group policy there is supposed to be no gap for liability; there is a gap for your own car, and there can be one for medical coverage depending on the period. A rideshare endorsement on your own policy is what closes it.
What does Uber or Lyft's insurance cover in New York?
Outside New York City, Vehicle and Traffic Law Article 44-B sets the minimums the platform's group policy must provide. App on, no request accepted: 75/150/25 liability plus no-fault and uninsured-motorist coverage. From accepting a request through drop-off: $1,250,000 liability and $1,250,000 supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, plus no-fault. Nothing in the law requires collision or comprehensive for your car; the platforms offer that only during a trip, only if you carry it on your own policy, and with a deductible in the low thousands.
Is delivery driving (DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon Flex) covered the same way?
No. Article 44-B covers prearranged passenger trips, not deliveries. A personal auto policy's exclusion for carrying property for a fee applies to delivery driving, and what the delivery platforms provide is set by their own contracts, typically liability only while you're on an active delivery, nothing while you wait, and nothing for your own car. Delivery drivers need the endorsement more than rideshare drivers do, and several carriers write one that covers delivery specifically; ask by app name.
What does a rideshare endorsement cost and what does it do?
It extends your personal policy, including your collision and comprehensive, into the app-on periods, so the deductible you know applies instead of the platform's, and there's no argument about which period you were in. Pricing depends on the carrier, the hours you drive and the car; for a part-time driver it is usually a modest addition to the premium rather than a doubling. Not every carrier offers it, and some non-renew a policy when they discover undisclosed app driving, so it's a conversation to have before you start, not after a claim.
Do I have to tell my insurer I drive for an app?
Yes. Applications ask about business use and ridesharing, and a claim investigation will pull the app's trip log. An undisclosed rideshare or delivery use is grounds to deny a claim and non-renew the policy. Disclose it and get the endorsement; if the carrier won't write it, move to one that will before the next trip.
Tell me which app, and how many hours
Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Amazon Flex: send the app and roughly how many hours a week, and I'll tell you which of the carriers I represent will endorse your policy for it and what it costs, before a claim finds the exclusion for you.