Clear, sourced information about what happens after a Colorado crash
With Uber and Lyft the question is not who was driving but what the app was doing at that moment.
The short answer
Which policy answers a rideshare crash depends on whether the driver was offline, waiting for a request, or carrying a passenger.App off: the driver’s personal policy, and nothing else. App on but no ride accepted: a contingent policy with lower limits. Ride accepted or passenger aboard: the rideshare company’s commercial cover, which is substantially larger.
Establishing which state applied is the first job in the claim, and it is proved from the company’s own trip data rather than from anyone’s recollection.
A passenger is almost never assigned fault. That does not make the claim simple: the fight moves to which insurer answers and how the injuries are valued.
Then it is an ordinary Colorado fault claim against that driver, with the rideshare company’s uninsured motorist cover potentially behind it.
In Colorado, a claim for injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle must be brought within three years. C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n) verified 2026-09-11
Uninsured and underinsured motorist cover is added to every Colorado policy automatically, matched to your liability limits, unless you reject it in writing. C.R.S. § 10-4-609 verified 2026-09-11
Every Colorado driver must carry at least $25,000 of bodily injury liability cover per person, $50,000 per crash, and $15,000 for property damage. Colorado Division of Insurance, auto insurance requirements verified 2026-09-11
Every statement on this page traces to one of the sources below. Where the text was read somewhere other than the body that issued it, that is noted.
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