Aspet Bianslaw
There is a particular kind of frustration that comes from being injured in an accident where fault is not even the issue, the issue is that two insurance companies are arguing about which one of them is supposed to call you back.
This happens constantly with rideshare accidents in San Diego, especially around the airport, the convention center during big events, and late at night near SDSU and the Gaslamp. The driver was logged into the app. Something happened. And now the driver’s personal insurer says “that’s a commercial trip, not on us,” while the rideshare company’s insurer says “the trip wasn’t active yet, not on us either.” You are stuck in the middle, with medical bills that do not care whose policy is supposed to cover them.
A San Diego rideshare accident lawyer at Babaians Law Firm exists largely to solve this exact problem.
It is not an accident, no pun intended, that this gap exists. Insurance companies price personal auto policies assuming the car is being used for personal trips. Rideshare companies, in turn, structure their coverage to only fully kick in once a ride is underway, because covering every driver from the moment they open the app, regardless of whether they ever pick anyone up, would be enormously expensive.
The result is a middle period, app on, no ride matched yet, where coverage exists on paper but both insurers have an incentive to argue it belongs to the other one. California regulators have weighed in on this more than once, most recently with updates covered in our piece on California’s rideshare liability initiative, but the dispute has not gone away. It has just gotten more procedural.
Say a driver is parked near the airport’s rideshare staging lot, app open, waiting for a fare. Another car backs into them, causing a moderate injury to the driver’s neck. The driver was not “working” in any sense most people would recognize, they were sitting in a parking lot. But because the app was open, their personal insurer may try to deny the claim entirely, treating it as a commercial use exclusion.
Meanwhile, the rideshare company’s contingent coverage is real, but it is also secondary, meaning it is only supposed to step in after the personal policy has been exhausted or denied. If the personal insurer denies the claim outright, that should trigger the contingent policy. In practice, getting from “denied” to “contingent policy pays” often requires someone formally pushing both companies in writing, sometimes in court.
That someone is a San Diego rideshare accident lawyer.
For more background, see our broader rideshare accident practice page.
Review what you should never say to an insurance adjuster for more on this.
Most law firms will tell you they “handle rideshare accidents.” Fewer will tell you what that actually means in practice: phone calls and demand letters to two separate insurance companies, sometimes simultaneously, until one of them agrees to pay or until both end up named in a lawsuit. That is the work. A San Diego rideshare accident lawyer at Babaians Law Firm does it on a contingency basis, so it costs you nothing unless we win.
Schedule your free consultation today with a San Diego rideshare accident lawyer.
The coverage gap is not your fault, and it should not be your problem to solve while you are also trying to recover from an injury. A San Diego rideshare accident lawyer at Babaians Law Firm exists to take that fight off your hands and onto ours.
This article was prepared by the legal content team at Babaians Law Firm under the guidance of our licensed California personal injury attorneys, who have represented rideshare accident victims throughout San Diego County. For specific legal advice, contact our office to schedule a free consultation.
Unfortunately, yes. It is one of the most common patterns in rideshare claims. A San Diego rideshare accident lawyer puts both insurers on formal notice so the back-and-forth stops being your problem.
In many cases, yes, naming both as defendants is a standard approach when coverage is disputed. California courts have generally not allowed rideshare companies to fully disclaim responsibility during active app periods.
That is actually the more straightforward scenario. If a ride was active, the rideshare company’s $1 million policy generally applies directly.
It varies widely. Some resolve in a few months once the right policy is identified. Others, especially Period 1 disputes, can take longer if litigation becomes necessary.
Yes, and there is no obligation. We only get paid if we recover compensation for you.
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At Babaians Law Firm, we represent injured clients throughout Rancho Cucamonga and the Inland Empire, from the foothills neighborhoods near the 210 to the busy commercial
We take on fewer cases to give every client the focus they deserve. Unlike high-volume firms where cases get lost in the shuffle, we prioritize quality over quantity, delivering the attention and results your case deserves. Experience the difference with our dedicated team.
Great female led personal injury firm with good results and settlements. I highly recommend this law firm for personal injury related matters in Los Angeles and California in general.