Who Pays for My Lost Income While My Car Is Being Repaired?

What the platforms actually offer

Uber sells Vehicle Interruption Coverage. It is optional, you have to buy it, and it is only offered in some places. Where it applies, Uber describes a $2,500 lump-sum benefit if a covered accident or theft leaves your vehicle inoperable for at least 24 hours.

Uber also sells Optional Injury Protection, which covers disability payments and medical expenses if you are injured and cannot drive. That is about an injury stopping you, not a car being in the shop \u2014 a distinction worth keeping straight.

Lyft lists first-party coverages that may include occupational accident coverage, which is likewise injury-related rather than vehicle downtime.

If someone else caused the crash

Lost earnings are sometimes pursued as part of a claim against the driver who caused it. Whether that is available to you, how it would be measured, and what you would need to prove it are questions that depend on your state and the facts.

Practical point regardless: if you intend to claim downtime, your earnings records are the evidence. Trip history and payment statements from before the crash are worth saving now rather than reconstructing later.

What we have not verified

We have verified what Uber and Lyft say they sell. We have not verified whether lost earnings are recoverable from an at-fault driver in your state, how such a claim is measured, or what records are required. That is a legal question that varies, and we would rather say so than guess.

Does Uber or Lyft give me a rental car? →Can I get my deductible back? →