A new law requiring rideshare drivers and companies in California to have liability insurance coverage during all three periods in which they use the application went into effect on July 1, 2015.

Assembly Bill 2293 (Bonilla) was signed into law in September 2014.

The three periods California ride-share drivers are now required to have liability insurance are:

Period 1: the app is opened and the driver waits for a match
Period 2: the driver is on their way to pick up the matched passenger
Period 3: the passenger enters the car to when they exit

AB 2293 requires:

Regular personal auto insurance policies provide no coverage for Transportation Network Company (TNC) activities after July 1, 2015.
The TNC company to maintain $1 million in liability coverage from the time a match is accepted until the passenger exits the vehicle (periods two and three).
The driver or the TNC company to maintain the following primary liability insurance in the pre-match period (period one):

- $50,000 minimum for injury to a single person
- $100,000 minimum for injury to multiple persons
- $30,000 minimum for property damage

TNCs must also maintain $200,000 in excess insurance in the pre-match period.

The "pre-match" period from when the app is opened and the driver waits for a match to when a match is made had long been a concern for law makers and insurers alike. Farmers and Metromile now offer insurance products in California to cover drivers in the pre-match period.

"Closing insurance gaps in ride-sharing coverage is essential to making sure passengers, other drivers and pedestrians are protected when ride-sharing vehicles are on the road," California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a release. "This new law is a good start and requires TNCs to provide liability coverage or make sure drivers have liability coverage during all periods the TNC application is on."

Special Reports /

Everything you need to know about California's new rideshare insurance law

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