Requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for transportation network company drivers

House Bill 702 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 45:201.6 to establish specific uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage requirements for transportation network company drivers. The bill modifies the insurance requirements provisions in subsections (A), (B)(2), and (C)(2) by replacing the cross-reference to R.S. 22:1295 with explicit language requiring that primary automobile insurance include liability, uninsured motorist, and underinsured motorist coverage. The key substantive change specifies that uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage must be provided in an amount not less than the bodily injury liability limits specified in the policy itself, applying this requirement during both the pre-trip acceptance period and during a prearranged ride.

Transportation network company drivers and the transportation network companies that employ or contract with them are directly affected by this legislation. The bill requires drivers operating under these companies to maintain uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at specified minimum levels during two distinct operational periods: when a driver is logged into the platform and awaiting ride requests, and when actively transporting passengers. This creates a binding obligation on both individual drivers and their affiliated transportation network companies, as the statute allows either party to maintain the required insurance on the driver's behalf. Any driver or company operating without this coverage or with coverage below the bodily injury liability limits would be in violation of state law.

The bill operates within Louisiana's existing regulatory framework for transportation network companies established in R.S. 45:201 and surrounding sections. Present law already required uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage by reference to R.S. 22:1295, which contains the standard uninsured and underinsured motorist provisions applicable to most Louisiana automobile policies. House Bill 702 removes that indirect reference and instead establishes an independent, explicit minimum floor by tying coverage amounts directly to each policy's bodily injury liability limits. This approach operates in tandem with broader insurance requirements for transportation network company drivers and may interact with federal regulations governing rideshare insurance, though the bill focuses solely on state-level statutory amendments to the transportation network company insurance regime.