Hurt in an Uber or Lyft crash in Illinois? The rideshare company's insurance may apply depending on whether the driver was logged off, waiting for a ride, or on a trip.
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Illinois's Transportation Network Providers Act (625 ILCS 57/1 et seq.), first enacted in 2014 and extended through September 1, 2028 via a sunset clause, creates a three-tier insurance structure that governs every rideshare crash. Period 1 — app on, no ride matched — requires only a contingent policy of $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident, and $25,000 property damage. This minimal coverage often applies when the TNC company insists its driver was 'between rides.' Periods 2 and 3 — from the moment a ride is matched through the passenger's exit — require $1,000,000 primary liability coverage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. The TNC company's own policy is primary in Periods 2 and 3, meaning it cannot pass liability to the driver's personal insurer. The critical factual question in every rideshare crash is: exactly which period was active at the moment of impact? Your attorney must immediately subpoena the TNC's internal trip records, GPS logs, and app timestamps to pin the period.
The City of Chicago layers additional requirements on top of state law through Chicago Municipal Code § 9-115. Chicago requires TNCs to carry liability insurance throughout all periods including Period 0 (app off, driver using personal vehicle), which the state law does not address. Chicago also mandates specific vehicle inspection protocols, driver background check frequency, and accident reporting requirements that create additional grounds for negligence claims when violated. If your crash occurred within Chicago city limits, you may have a stronger compliance-based negligence argument than if the crash occurred in suburban Cook County or elsewhere in Illinois. The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) licenses TNC companies and maintains compliance records that are subject to FOIA requests — a source of evidence your attorney should pursue early.
TNC companies classify their drivers as independent contractors under 625 ILCS 57/25, which is designed to insulate them from vicarious liability for driver negligence. However, this classification does not eliminate all TNC liability. Illinois courts recognize that direct negligence theories — negligent entrustment, negligent screening, and negligent monitoring of driver conduct — can succeed even when the independent contractor relationship precludes traditional respondeat superior. In Perez v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 2019 IL App (1st) 182390, Illinois courts analyzed the economic reality test for TNC driver relationships, and several federal district courts applying Illinois law have allowed negligent entrustment claims to proceed past summary judgment where the TNC had available information about a driver's dangerous history before assigning rides. Background check gaps, failure to enforce deactivation policies, and inadequate accident history monitoring are all fair game.
The September 1, 2028 sunset clause embedded in the Transportation Network Providers Act (625 ILCS 57) creates a unique temporal urgency for rideshare crash victims. If the Illinois legislature does not reauthorize or extend the Act, the mandatory insurance framework that currently guarantees $1,000,000 in Period 2/3 coverage could lapse or be renegotiated at lower levels. Illinois has twice extended the Act since 2014, and another extension is politically likely — but not certain. More immediately, if you were injured in a rideshare crash, the Act's current provisions are your protection, and the 2-year statute of limitations under 735 ILCS 5/13-202 runs from the date of your crash regardless of TNC legislative developments. Do not wait. Insurance carriers for TNCs aggressively investigate claims within days of accidents, conducting recorded statements and scene investigations before victims have retained counsel.
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Under 625 ILCS 57/1 et seq., coverage depends on the driver's status when the crash occurred. If the driver had the app on and was matched to you as a passenger (Periods 2-3), Uber's or Lyft's own $1,000,000 primary liability policy applies — plus uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This is in addition to any coverage from the at-fault driver's personal policy. If you were a third party (pedestrian, other vehicle) hit by a rideshare driver with an active ride, the same $1M applies. If the driver had the app on but had not yet accepted a ride (Period 1), coverage drops to only $50,000/$100,000/$25,000. Your own auto policy's UIM coverage may bridge the gap. Chicago's municipal code (§ 9-115) may impose additional coverage requirements within city limits.
Yes, on multiple theories. Uber and Lyft are named defendants even though they classify drivers as independent contractors under 625 ILCS 57/25. Direct negligence theories available in Illinois include: (1) negligent entrustment — allowing a driver with a dangerous record to access the platform; (2) negligent hiring/screening — failing to conduct adequate background checks; (3) negligent retention — continuing to permit a driver flagged in passenger complaints to operate. Additionally, in some cases courts have found sufficient control by the TNC to pierce the independent contractor designation. Illinois courts apply an economic reality test considering control, method of payment, and integration into the business. Even where independent contractor status is upheld, the direct negligence theories remain viable and have survived dismissal motions in Illinois federal and state courts.
If the app was completely off (Period 0) and the driver was simply using their personal vehicle, TNC insurance does not apply. You are limited to the driver's personal auto insurance policy. Illinois requires minimum liability coverage of $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 under 625 ILCS 5/7-203 — but most drivers carry higher limits. If the driver's personal insurer discovers they were using the vehicle for commercial purposes (which Uber/Lyft driving is), it may deny coverage for the commercial-use exclusion. In that scenario, you would need to pursue your own uninsured motorist coverage under 215 ILCS 5/143a. This is why having robust UM/UIM coverage on your own policy is critical. Always ask your attorney to pull the insurance declaration page from the driver and determine app status at the time of impact.
Critical evidence to preserve immediately: (1) Screenshot your Uber/Lyft app showing the trip details, driver information, route, and timestamps — this is your primary proof of which coverage period was active; (2) Photograph all vehicle damage, your injuries, and the scene; (3) Request the police report from the responding officer, which should note vehicle identification and insurance information; (4) Preserve any medical records from your initial evaluation; (5) Do not provide a recorded statement to any insurance company before speaking with counsel — TNC insurers deploy rapid response teams after crashes. Your attorney can subpoena the TNC's internal records under discovery, including GPS coordinates confirming the exact moment of impact relative to trip acceptance. Under Illinois discovery rules (Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 201 et seq.), these records are discoverable in litigation.
All legal information on this page is sourced from primary government statutes. Last verified 2026-04-07.
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