Rideshare accident claims in Indiana require understanding a three-tier insurance structure that is specific to transportation network company operations and that determines the applicable coverage based on exactly what the driver was doing on the app at the moment of the crash. The difference between the coverage tiers is not marginal: for the same serious injury, the coverage available during an active trip can be ten to twenty times the coverage available during the app-on but no-ride-accepted phase. Indiana’s regulatory framework for TNCs, established under Indiana Code Section 8-2.1-27, sets the minimum insurance requirements for each phase, and understanding those requirements is the starting point for any rideshare accident claim in the state.
Indiana’s Three-Tier TNC Coverage Requirements
When the TNC driver’s app is off, only their personal auto insurance applies. Indiana requires a minimum of $25,000 per person in personal auto liability coverage, but a personal policy may contain a commercial use exclusion that eliminates coverage for rideshare activity. When the driver’s app is on and they are available to accept rides but have not yet accepted a specific trip, Indiana Code Section 8-2.1-27-16 requires the TNC to maintain contingent liability coverage of at least $50,000 per person in bodily injury coverage. When the driver has accepted a ride and through the completion of the trip, the TNC must maintain primary liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. This $1 million active-trip coverage is the most important number in any rideshare accident claim involving a passenger or a third party struck during an active trip.
Documenting the Trip Phase at the Scene
For passengers injured during active rides, the trip is automatically recorded in the TNC’s backend system and the $1 million coverage phase is easily established. For pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers struck by a rideshare vehicle, the phase at the time of impact must be established through other evidence. The most direct documentary evidence of the active trip phase is a screenshot of the driver’s app screen taken immediately after the crash, before the driver or the app can update the trip status. A photograph of the driver’s phone showing the active ride in progress, taken while the vehicle is still at the crash scene, is independent contemporaneous evidence of the trip phase that the TNC’s own records cannot contradict.
Indiana’s Comparative Fault in Rideshare Crashes
Indiana’s 51 percent modified comparative fault standard applies to rideshare accident claims as it does to all Indiana vehicle accident claims. When the at-fault party is the rideshare driver, the fault analysis proceeds against the driver’s conduct and the TNC’s potential independent liability for negligent driver vetting or supervision. When a third vehicle contributed to the crash, the fault allocation among the rideshare driver, the third vehicle’s driver, and potentially the injured party requires the full comparative fault analysis that Indiana’s tort framework governs. The TNC’s $1 million coverage limit is most important in cases where the rideshare driver was clearly at fault, because the coverage capacity to pay for serious injuries exists even when the driver’s personal assets do not.
When the TNC Disputes the Phase
TNCs have a financial incentive to categorize crashes as occurring during the lower-coverage contingent phase rather than the higher-coverage active trip phase, and disputes about the applicable phase do arise in cases where the timing is close. The TNC’s own trip records are obtainable through formal legal process, and cell phone records showing the driver’s app activity in the minutes before the crash provide an independent check on the TNC’s phase characterization. The Indiana Department of Insurance’s consumer resources govern the insurance requirements applicable to Indiana TNC operations. Working with experienced Vaughan and Vaughan rideshare accident attorneys who secure the TNC’s trip records and document the coverage phase from the first day of representation gives injured Indiana rideshare crash victims the maximum coverage access their claims allow.