Key Takeaways
- What the driver was doing decides which cover applies, and the app status settles it.
- $1,000,000 applies from the moment the ride is accepted, not from when the passenger gets in.
- Coverage does not increase when you enter the car. What is added is $50,000 of UM/UIM.
- App on with no ride accepted is the thin period: $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000.
- Your own policy does not have to deny first. The statute says so expressly.
The three periods, and what each actually requires
Illinois sets rideshare insurance in the Transportation Network Providers Act, at 625 ILCS 57/10. The requirements turn entirely on what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash.
| Period | When | Required liability cover |
|---|---|---|
| App off | Not logged in | The driver’s ordinary personal policy |
| Period 1 | Logged on, no ride accepted | $50,000 per person / $100,000 per incident / $25,000 property |
| Period 2 | Ride accepted, driving to collect | $1,000,000 primary |
| Period 3 | Passenger on board | $1,000,000 primary — the same amount — plus $50,000 UM/UIM |
The point that is most often got wrong
Rideshare coverage is frequently described as a ladder that climbs at each stage, with the passenger’s presence unlocking the fullest protection. That is not what the statute says.
Periods 2 and 3 both sit inside the same subsection. 625 ILCS 57/10(c) applies “from the moment a TNC driver accepts a ride request… until the TNC driver completes the transaction… or until the ride is complete, whichever is later,” and 57/10(c)(1) requires liability insurance that is “primary and in the amount of $1,000,000 for death, personal injury, and property damage.”
One million dollars is therefore already in place while the driver is on the way to collect you. It does not rise when you open the door.
What does begin at that moment is separate cover. Under 57/10(c)(2), the policy must also provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $50,000 from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle until the passenger exits. That matters when the driver at fault is someone else who has no insurance, and it exists only while you are actually in the car.
Period 1 is the thin one
The genuine weak point is not Period 3. It is Period 1, when the driver is logged on and waiting for a request.
Under 625 ILCS 57/10(b) the requirement drops to $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident and $25,000 property damage. That is only modestly above the ordinary minimum required of any Illinois driver, and a serious injury will exhaust it.
The same limits apply again after a ride finishes, until the driver accepts another request or logs off. So a driver cruising between fares is in the thinnest coverage period of the day.
625 ILCS 57/10(b)(2) adds a safeguard: the transportation network company must maintain contingent cover at those amounts where the driver’s own policy excludes the claim or does not provide the required limits. Personal auto policies commonly exclude carrying passengers for money, which is exactly why that provision exists.
Two provisions worth knowing before you claim
- The insurer must defend and indemnify. Under 57/10(c)(3), the insurer providing subsection (c) coverage has the duty to defend and indemnify the insured.
- Your own policy does not have to deny first. 57/10(c)(4) provides that coverage under a policy required by subsection (c) “shall not be dependent on a personal automobile insurance policy first denying a claim nor shall a personal automobile insurance policy be required to first deny a claim.”
That second point is rarely mentioned and it saves months. If you are told to exhaust your own insurance before the rideshare policy will engage, the statute says otherwise.
Why app status is the first thing to establish
Because the coverage turns on the period, the single most valuable piece of evidence is what the app was doing. That record sits with the company rather than with anyone at the scene, and it should be requested early. What to gather is set out in evidence after an Illinois rideshare crash.
Other cover that may apply
- Your own UM/UIM, which under 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(1) equals your bodily injury liability limits unless rejected in writing.
- A third driver’s policy, where someone outside the rideshare caused the crash.
- A public body, where a bus or the roadway contributed, which shortens the deadline to one year under 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a), or 70 ILCS 3605/41 for the CTA.
Since 1 January 2024 rideshare companies are also treated as common carriers in Illinois, which raises the standard of care owed to passengers. See Illinois common carrier law for rideshare passengers and the rideshare filing deadline.
الأسئلة الشائعة
How much insurance covers an Illinois rideshare accident?
It depends on the driver’s app status. Under 625 ILCS 57/10(b), a driver logged on but with no ride accepted carries $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident and $25,000 property damage. Under 57/10(c)(1), once a ride request is accepted the requirement is $1,000,000 in primary liability coverage.
Does the coverage increase when the passenger gets in the car?
No. The $1,000,000 requirement in 625 ILCS 57/10(c)(1) applies from the moment the driver accepts the ride request, so it is already in place while they are driving to collect you. What begins when a passenger enters is separate: $50,000 of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage under 57/10(c)(2), lasting until the passenger exits.
Which period has the least coverage?
Period 1, when the driver is logged on and waiting for a request, and again after a ride ends until they accept another or log off. The requirement is only $50,000 per person, $100,000 per incident and $25,000 property damage, which a serious injury will exhaust.
What if the driver’s personal insurance excludes rideshare work?
625 ILCS 57/10(b)(2) requires the transportation network company to maintain contingent coverage at the Period 1 amounts where the driver’s own policy excludes the claim or does not provide the required limits. Personal policies commonly exclude carrying passengers for payment, which is why the provision exists.
Do I have to claim on my own insurance first?
No. 625 ILCS 57/10(c)(4) provides that coverage required under subsection (c) shall not be dependent on a personal automobile insurance policy first denying a claim, and a personal policy may not be required to deny first.
What is the most important evidence in a rideshare claim?
The driver’s app status at the moment of the crash, because it determines which coverage period applies and therefore how much insurance is available. That record is held by the rideshare company rather than by anyone at the scene, so it should be requested early.
Talk to an Elmwood Park rideshare accident lawyer
The difference between Period 1 and Period 2 is the difference between $50,000 and $1,000,000, and it turns on something no one at the roadside can see. Establishing app status early is usually worth more to a rideshare claim than anything else that can be done in the first weeks.
If you were hurt in a rideshare crash in Elmwood Park, Oak Lawn, Skokie, Niles, Orland Park or anywhere in Cook County, Lawyer Furqan will pursue the app and trip records and identify every policy that responds.
Call 847-800-8978 or contact us online. The consultation is free, there is nothing upfront, and you owe no attorney’s fee unless we win.
Sources and authorities cited
- 625 ILCS 57/10(b) · Period 1 limits and contingent coverage
- 625 ILCS 57/10(c)(1)–(4) · $1,000,000 primary from acceptance of the request; $50,000 UM/UIM from passenger entry to exit; duty to defend and indemnify; no requirement that a personal policy deny first
- 215 ILCS 5/143a-2(1) · UM equal to bodily injury liability limits
- 745 ILCS 10/8-101(a) and 70 ILCS 3605/41 · one-year deadlines
This article is general legal information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and creates no attorney-client relationship. Which coverage applies depends on the facts and the policies involved, and nothing here predicts a result.
