By Ben Bergman, September 17, 2014

Amid all the talk about cutting-edge technology, much of Uber and Lyft’s success actually
owes to that fact the ride-sharing companies have been able to exploit a
basic loophole: The companies foist the cost of insurance on their
drivers, but the drivers' insurance companies don’t know they are
underwriting cars for hire, and even if drivers wanted to be honest and
get a policy that would cover ride-sharing, they couldn’t, because no
such policy exists.
Uber once derided the bill as a backroom deal between insurance companies and trial lawyers.
"The bill does nothing to enhance safety, yet compromises the transportation choices and entrepreneurial opportunities Uber offers Californians," the company wrote in a June blog post that encouraged customers to contact their representatives opposing the bill.
However, the company backed down and supported the legislation when Bonilla insurance requirements were lowered.
AB 2293 also specifically bans drivers from using their personal policies and mandates drivers have to be covered from the moment they turn on their app and look for customers, which is a response to the tragic accident on New Year's Eve in San Francisco when an UberX driver hit and killed a six year old child.
Uber argued that because the driver was waiting for a fare he wasn't working for the company at the time, so he wasn't covered by the company's insurance.