The use of ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft have expanded quickly in a short amount of time. These transportation methods provide the convenience of driving without the price tag of a traditional cab or limo. Plus, they’re typically cleaner and more convenient compared to public transportation.

However, since ridesharing has increased in popularity, so has the debate on the responsibility of rideshare companies and drivers. In many states, there’s a blurred line between rideshare company and its drivers. These companies do not employ their drivers, and instead, the drivers typically work as contract employees, which means they don’t get any benefits and they can create their own hours. Because of this, rideshare companies are simply acting as a service, not an employer, which has allowed them to bypass insurance policy provisions and regulations.

For example, many rideshare companies have simply told their drivers that their own personal insurance policy would be sufficient enough to handle any accident or injury claims. So, many rideshare drivers did that—simply relied on their personal automobile policy. However, in 2014, parents of a six-year-old California girl who was hit and killed by an Uber car sued the company, but the company claimed they had no liability as to the driver. This sparked a huge debate in ridesharing insurance regulations, and while it’s still be debated in many states, California and Oregon have finally come to a conclusion for their own respective state’s decisions and regulations regarding ridesharing and insurance.

In California, ridesharing companies are now required to provide $100,000 in coverage for their drivers once the driver connects to the dispatch software. This coverage increases to $1 million as soon as the driver agrees to pick up a passenger. Rideshare opions like Uber and Lyft have been on an increasing slide of popularity in areas like Santa Clarita; Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, Castaic and Stevenson Ranch.

In Oregon, the topic is still being debated through House Bill 2995, but the state issued a consumer advisory to their citizens that warned them about the unavailability of insurance coverage for rideshare drivers through their personal policies. This means that if a rideshare driver were to be in an accident in Oregon, the driver’s personal policy would not cover any injury or damages. Drivers in this state would need to either pay out of pocket or acquire their own legal representation, such as Oregon personal injury attorney Nelson MacNeil Rayfield.

In other states, drivers do have some insurance options. For example, Metromile provides per-mile insurance for Uber drivers in California, Illinois, and Washington. Farmers Insurance has rideshare insurance policies available to those in Utah, Colorado, and Arkansas, and Geico supplies policies for those in Virginia, Texas, Georgia, and Maryland. But even with these insurance options, the debate between ridesharing companies and their legal requirement to provide insurance coverage will continue as the companies continue to grow.