Which Insurance Company Pays After an Uber Accident in Ontario?
- Jul 24
- 10 min read
Quick Answer: For an Uber passenger, Ontario’s section 268 priority rules determine which insurance company pays accident benefits. For an injured Uber driver, the current ridesharing endorsement gives the commercial policy priority during covered rideshare activity. Lawsuits are handled separately through the liability insurance covering the driver who caused the collision.
An Uber accident can involve the injured person’s own automobile insurer, a spouse’s or parent’s insurer, Uber’s commercial policy, the Uber driver’s personal insurer or the insurer of another vehicle.
The correct answer depends on who was injured, the type of claim being made and what the Uber driver was doing in the app. Where serious injuries or disputed insurance coverage are involved, an Ontario Uber accident lawyer can identify the available policies and address the accident benefits and liability claims separately.
Why Can More Than One Insurer Be Involved in an Uber Accident?
Ontario automobile claims can include both statutory accident benefits and a negligence claim.
Accident benefits are available through Ontario’s no-fault automobile insurance system. An injured person does not need to prove that the Uber driver or another motorist caused the collision before applying for benefits available under the applicable policy.
A tort claim, commonly called a personal injury lawsuit, is brought against a driver or another party whose negligence caused the injuries. The insurer defending that claim may be different from the insurer administering accident benefits.
For example, an Uber passenger who owns an insured vehicle may have to apply to that vehicle’s insurance company for accident benefits even though the vehicle was parked at home. If the Uber driver caused the collision while transporting the passenger, the commercial rideshare policy may separately respond to the lawsuit.
Which Company Insures Uber Drivers in Ontario?
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario identifies Uber as an approved ridesharing service with coverage provided through Economical Insurance.
The current Ontario Uber policy certificate identifies Definity Insurance Company as the insurer. Economical’s public materials describe the commercial coverage available to drivers using the Uber app.
FSRA’s consumer guidance explains that approved rideshare coverage applies while the driver is using the app for rideshare activity. If the app is turned off and the vehicle is being used personally, the vehicle owner’s personal automobile policy applies.
The insurance contract uses more precise definitions than the general public summaries. The current policy divides covered rideshare activity into a pre-acceptance period and a post-acceptance period.
What Insurance Applies When the Uber App Is Off?
Uber’s commercial policy does not extend coverage to the vehicle while it is being used outside the defined pre-acceptance and post-acceptance periods.
When the driver is offline and using the vehicle personally, the personal automobile policy covering the vehicle is ordinarily the starting point.
A coverage dispute may arise if a collision happens to occur shortly after a trip ends, while the driver is preparing to begin accepting requests or after the driver claims to have logged out. The timing should be confirmed through the app and trip records rather than the driver’s recollection alone.
What Is the Uber Pre-Acceptance Period?
The policy’s pre-acceptance period corresponds to what Uber commonly calls Period 1. It begins when the driver has logged into the Uber network and is available to receive requests for transportation services originating in Ontario. It ends when the driver accepts a request or logs out.
According to Economical’s current Ontario coverage summary, the pre-acceptance period includes:
$1 million in third-party liability coverage;
mandatory accident benefits;
optional accident benefits where available and subject to eligibility; and
contingent collision and comprehensive coverage, subject to the policy conditions and a $2,500 deductible.
Collision and comprehensive coverage under the commercial policy generally requires the vehicle owner to carry corresponding coverage under the underlying personal automobile policy.
What Is the Uber Post-Acceptance Period?
The post-acceptance period covers what Uber commonly describes as Periods 2 and 3. This period begins as soon as the Uber driver accepts a transportation request. The period extends to the time spent travelling to the pickup, collecting the passenger and transporting the passenger to the destination.
The current policy provides:
$2 million in third-party liability coverage;
mandatory accident benefits;
optional accident benefits where available and subject to eligibility; and
contingent collision and comprehensive coverage, subject to the policy conditions and the $2,500 deductible.
The passenger does not need to be inside of the vehicle before post-acceptance coverage begins. The higher liability limit applies once the driver accepts the request and begins travelling to the pickup.
The policy also uses a more precise ending point than simply saying coverage ends when the passenger leaves. The post-acceptance period ends when the applicable concluding event occurs, including the last passenger leaving, the trip ending or the trip being cancelled, whichever is later.
Does Uber Insurance Cover Passengers in Ontario?
Uber’s commercial policy provides coverage during the covered post-acceptance period, including while a passenger is being transported. That does not mean every injured passenger should submit an accident benefits application directly to Uber’s insurance company. Ontario’s statutory priority rules may direct the passenger to a personal or household automobile policy first.
The commercial policy can separately respond to a negligence claim where the Uber driver caused the collision during covered rideshare activity.
An injured Uber passenger may therefore receive accident benefits from one insurer while pursuing compensation through another insurer’s liability coverage.
Which Insurer Pays an Uber Passenger’s Accident Benefits?
Section 268 of Ontario’s Insurance Act establishes the priority order for statutory accident benefits. For a person who is occupying an automobile, including an Uber passenger, the order is generally:
The insurer of an automobile in respect of which the passenger is an insured.
If recovery is unavailable through that insurer, the insurer of the automobile occupied by the passenger.
If recovery remains unavailable, the insurer of another automobile involved in the incident.
If no automobile insurer is available, the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund.
The first category is not limited to a policy purchased personally by the passenger. Depending on the applicable definitions, the passenger may be insured under a policy as a named insured, the spouse of a named insured or a dependant. A passenger who owns an insured vehicle may therefore have to apply to that vehicle’s insurer even though it was not involved in the Uber collision.
Someone who does not own a vehicle may still qualify under a spouse’s policy. A child or adult dependant may have coverage through a parent’s policy.
Only when no higher-priority policy is available does the claim ordinarily move to the insurer of the Uber vehicle.
Which Insurer Pays an Injured Uber Driver’s Accident Benefits?
The current Uber policy contains a specific rule for the rideshare driver. The EPCF 6TN Coverage for Ridesharing Endorsement states that, for an accident benefits claim made by a rideshare driver, the commercial policy responds before another policy under which the driver is an insured or named insured.
That priority applies while the vehicle is being used within the defined pre-acceptance or post-acceptance period, subject to the endorsement’s terms and exclusions.
The position of an injured Uber driver is therefore different from that of an Uber passenger. A passenger’s accident benefits claim ordinarily follows the section 268 occupant priority rules. The commercial policy expressly assumes first priority for the covered rideshare driver.
What If the Uber Passenger Does Not Own a Car?
Passengers do not lose access to mandatory accident benefits merely because they do not own an insured vehicle.
The first question is whether the passenger qualifies as an insured under another automobile policy. This could include a policy held by a spouse or a policy under which the passenger qualifies as a dependant.
If no such policy is available, section 268 ordinarily directs the claim to the insurer of the automobile the passenger occupied. In an Uber accident, that may be the commercial policy covering the Uber vehicle.
If recovery is unavailable through the occupied vehicle’s insurer, the passenger may have recourse against the insurer of another automobile involved in the incident.
Can an Uber Passenger Claim Under a Household Policy With Better Optional Benefits?
Possibly, but the passenger cannot simply select whichever policy appears to provide the highest benefits. OPCF 47R was introduced because a person entitled to optional benefits under one policy could otherwise be required by section 268 to claim through another policy that does not contain those benefits.
If the endorsement applies to a case, an eligible covered person could elect to claim both mandatory and purchased optional accident benefits under the endorsed policy. In exchange, the person must agree to proceed under that policy and give up the right to maintain an accident benefits claim under another policy.
The person must fall within one of the endorsement’s covered categories: the named insured, spouse, dependant or person specified as a driver.
Uber passengers who qualifyunder an endorsed household policy may therefore have an election that would not be available to a passenger with no connection to that policy.
The policy certificate, optional-benefit selections and OPCF 47R endorsement should be reviewed before deciding which insurer should receive the application.
For broader information about available benefits and insurer disputes, see our page for Ontario accident benefits lawyers.
Which Insurer Handles a Lawsuit Against an Uber Driver?
A lawsuit generally follows the driver or other party who caused the collision. The Uber driver’s app status then helps identify the policy covering that driver.
The Uber driver was offline
If the driver happened to be using the vehicle personally and the app was off, the personal automobile policy will ordinarily be the starting point.
Coverage could be disputed if the insurer believes the driver was still engaged in rideshare activity or if the app records conflict with the driver’s account.
The Uber driver was logged in but had not accepted a request
This is the pre-acceptance period, commonly called Period 1. The commercial policy currently provides $1 million in third-party liability coverage.
The Uber driver had accepted a request
Acceptance begins the post-acceptance period. The commercial policy currently provides $2 million in third-party liability coverage while the driver travels to the pickup, collects the passenger and completes the trip.
Another driver caused the Uber collision
An injured passenger is not restricted to making a claim against the Uber driver.
If another motorist caused the collision, the passenger may pursue that driver and any vehicle owner who is legally responsible. The liability insurer covering the other vehicle may defend the claim.
More than one driver was responsible
Responsibility can be divided between the Uber driver and another motorist.
Where the evidence supports claims against both, the commercial insurer covering the Uber driver and the liability insurer covering the other vehicle may each become involved. Allocation of fault is separate from the accident benefits priority analysis.
How Is an Uber Driver’s App Status Proven?
The insurance period should be established through records rather than relying solely on the driver’s recollection.
App logs, login and logout times, request-acceptance records, cancellations, trip timestamps, GPS information and the passenger’s electronic receipt may show whether the driver was offline, waiting for a request, travelling to a pickup or carrying a passenger.
Those records can determine whether the $1 million pre-acceptance limit or the $2 million post-acceptance limit applied.
What Happens When Insurers Disagree About Priority?
An injured person should not be left without accident benefits while insurers argue over which company stands first in priority.
Ontario Regulation 283/95, Disputes Between Insurers, requires the first insurer receiving a completed accident benefits application to pay the benefits to which the claimant is entitled while the priority dispute is resolved.
That insurer cannot refuse to accept the completed application or redirect the applicant solely because it believes another insurer should pay.
The first insurance company may investigate, notify another insurer and pursue the dispute through the procedure established by the regulation. An insurer that intends to dispute its obligation ordinarily must provide written notice within 90 days after receiving the completed application, subject to the regulation’s limited exception.
This does not mean every requested benefit must be approved. The insurer may still dispute whether the claimant satisfies the legal requirements for a particular benefit. The regulation addresses which insurer must administer the claim while responsibility between the insurers is decided.
Which Insurer Pays If an Uber Driver Hits a Pedestrian or Cyclist?
Section 268 contains a separate priority order for a person who was not occupying an automobile. Pedestrians and cyclists generally have recourse first against the insurance company of an automobile in respect of which they are insured. If no such policy is available, the next insurer is ordinarily the insurer of the automobile that struck them.
If recovery remains unavailable, the claim may proceed against the insurer of another automobile involved in the incident and, finally, the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund.
The Uber driver’s app status may determine whether the striking vehicle is covered through the personal policy or the commercial rideshare policy. It does not necessarily determine which insurer stands first in priority for the pedestrian’s or cyclist’s accident benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions About Uber Accident Insurance in Ontario
Does Uber automatically pay an injured passenger?
No. The commercial policy may respond to a negligence claim against the Uber driver, but the passenger’s accident benefits may have to be claimed through a personal or household automobile insurer under section 268.
Which insurance company should an Uber passenger contact first?
The passenger should identify every automobile policy under which they may qualify as an insured. This could include a policy held by the passenger, a spouse or a parent. If no such policy applies, the insurer covering the Uber vehicle may be next in priority.
Is an Uber driver insured while waiting for a ride request?
Yes. The current Ontario commercial policy provides $1 million in third-party liability coverage during the pre-acceptance period, when the driver is logged in and available to receive a request.
What insurance applies while an Uber driver is travelling to a pickup?
The post-acceptance period begins as soon as the driver accepts the request. The current third-party liability limit during that period is $2 million.
What insurance applies while a passenger is inside the Uber?
The same $2 million post-acceptance liability limit applies while the passenger is being transported, subject to the policy terms.
Which insurer pays accident benefits if the Uber driver is injured?
During covered pre-acceptance or post-acceptance activity, the current EPCF 6TN endorsement states that the Uber commercial policy responds before another policy under which the rideshare driver is insured or named insured.
Can an Uber passenger claim optional benefits through a household policy?
Possibly. The passenger must qualify as a covered person, the benefits must have been purchased and the policy must include the applicable OPCF 47R protection. The passenger must also elect to proceed under that policy and forego an accident benefits claim under another policy.
Speak With an Ontario Uber Accident Lawyer
An Uber accident can involve a household policy, the commercial rideshare policy, another driver’s liability insurance and a dispute over the driver’s status in the app.
Foster Injury Law represents people seriously injured in Uber and rideshare accident claims across Ontario. We can identify the available policies, determine which insurance period applied, address disputes between insurers and pursue compensation from those responsible for the collision.
This article provides general legal information and is not legal advice. Insurance coverage depends on the legislation, policy wording, endorsements and circumstances of the collision.
