Written and reviewed by Josh Kohanim, Esq., California Bar No. 328609 · Reviewed
In this guide
These claims involve drivers working for Uber Eats, DoorDash, Instacart, Grubhub or Amazon Flex in Los Angeles County, and couriers hurt while making deliveries. The rideshare statute does not apply; Proposition 22 does, along with what each platform publishes about its own coverage. Crashes with a passenger in the car are on our Uber and Lyft accident page.
Why the rideshare law does not apply
Public Utilities Code section 5431(c) defines a transportation network company as one that provides prearranged transportation services for compensation using an app to connect passengers with drivers using a personal vehicle. A company that connects a customer with a courier carrying a bag of food is not doing that, so the insurance article that follows, including section 5433, does not attach.
That single word is why the $1,000,000 answer people find online is unreliable for delivery crashes. The same driver in the same car can move between two legal regimes in one shift, carrying a rider under section 5433 at 7 p.m. and a food order under a different rule at 9 p.m. The insurance question is decided by what was in the car, not by which app was on the phone.
The insurance the app must carry
Proposition 22 built a separate insurance obligation for delivery. Business and Professions Code section 7455(f)(1) requires a delivery network company to maintain automobile liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. That coverage compensates third parties for injuries or losses proximately caused by an app-based driver operating an automobile during engaged time, in instances where the automobile is not otherwise covered by a policy that complies with Insurance Code section 11580.1(b).
That last clause is the hinge. The platform's million dollar layer is written to answer where the courier's own policy does not, which is exactly what a personal auto policy's business-use exclusion, the clause that denies coverage while driving for pay, produces. The exclusion in the courier's policy is what switches the platform's policy on. Section 7455(a) then adds occupational accident insurance for the courier, covering medical expenses up to at least $1,000,000 and disability payments at 66 percent of average weekly earnings for up to the first 104 weeks.
What the platforms publish about coverage
Two platforms publish enough detail to quote. The rest do not, and we will not repeat figures we cannot read on the company's own page.
| Source | When it applies | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Bus. & Prof. Code 7455(f)(1) | Engaged time, where the car is not covered by a complying policy | At least $1,000,000 per occurrence for third parties |
| Bus. & Prof. Code 7455(a) | While the courier is online | Medical expenses to at least $1,000,000, disability at 66 percent for up to 104 weeks |
| Uber's delivery insurance page | Online and available for an offer | Third-party liability up to at least state auto insurance minimums |
| Uber's delivery insurance page | En route or on a delivery trip | Up to $500,000, or more where required, for third-party injuries and property damage when the courier is at fault |
| DoorDash's auto insurance page | From accepting a delivery until it is delivered, unassigned or canceled | $1,000,000 combined limit in most states, secondary to the Dasher's own policy, meaning it pays after that policy |
The sources are Uber's delivery insurance page and DoorDash's page on the auto insurance it maintains. Both say the same thing about the courier's own car: it is not covered. DoorDash states that damage to a Dasher's vehicle is the Dasher's responsibility, and Uber states that its coverage does not pay for damage to your own vehicle or your own injuries.
Rideshare and delivery side by side
| Question | Carrying a passenger | Carrying food or packages |
|---|---|---|
| Governing statute | Pub. Util. Code 5433 | Bus. & Prof. Code 7455(f)(1) |
| Required while working | $1,000,000 primary | At least $1,000,000 per occurrence, where no complying policy covers the car |
| Waiting for a request | $50,000, $100,000, $30,000, plus $200,000 in excess coverage above that | Not set by statute; the platform's own policy decides |
| Uninsured motorist coverage | $60,000 per person, $300,000 per incident | Not required by statute |
| Courier's own vehicle | Not required to be covered | Not required to be covered |
When the delivery answer changes
Five situations move a delivery crash out of the comparison table above. Identify which one applies before anyone gives a statement, because each changes who has to be notified.
- Logged in but not yet accepted. Engaged time begins at acceptance under section 7463(j), so a courier waiting for offers is outside the statute's million dollar requirement and inside whatever the platform chose to buy.
- The courier was on foot, a bicycle or a scooter. Section 7463(h) covers those modes, but section 7455(f)(1) speaks to operating an automobile, so an auto liability layer may never come into play.
- Two apps were open. Section 7455(d) allows contribution between platforms and excludes coverage where the courier was engaged for a different company or on a personal errand.
- The courier's personal policy responds. Section 7455(f)(1) applies where the automobile is not otherwise covered, so a courier who bought a business-use endorsement, an add-on that covers driving for pay, changes which policy leads.
- The vehicle was a van or a box truck. That is a commercial vehicle case with its own regulations, covered on our delivery and last mile truck accidents guide.
Because the statutory coverage turns on engaged time, the record that matters is the platform's own delivery log, and it is not a document a courier can hand you at the roadside. A preservation request goes to the platform early, in writing, naming the driver, the vehicle and the minute. The way that request works is the same one described on our rideshare insurance coverage page.
Who pays after a delivery app crash
Two questions decide it. The first is whether the courier was inside engaged time, meaning between accepting the order and completing it. The second is whether the courier's personal policy responds, or whether its business-use exclusion pushes the claim to the platform. Answer both and you know whether you are looking at a $1,000,000 layer under Proposition 22, a platform policy of a different size, or a personal policy with a $30,000 floor.
What you can do today is limited but useful. Photograph the vehicle, the plate and any delivery bag or placard, get the courier's name and the app they were working, and ask police to record it in the report. If you were a passenger rather than a bystander, our passenger injury claims page is the right page instead.