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Committee advances bill requiring delivery apps to carry insurance during deliveries
Summary
A House bill that would require delivery‑network companies to provide liability coverage for drivers while logged into apps or en route to pick up deliveries passed the subcommittee and will go to the full committee; insurance trade groups supported the measure while members pressed on coverage timing and limits.
A House subcommittee voted to advance House Bill 2175, which would require delivery‑network companies (DNCs) to maintain automobile liability insurance that fills gaps where drivers’ personal policies exclude commercial activity.
Representative Travis, the bill sponsor, told the Business & Utilities Subcommittee the measure mirrors earlier transportation‑network company rules that apply to ride‑hailing apps but sets lower liability limits tailored to delivery services. “This bill provides a comprehensive regulatory framework and insurance coverage requirements for delivery network companies,” he said, describing the proposal as a response to repeated instances in which drivers believed they had coverage but did not.
Ally Lynch of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association testified in support and explained the bill’s minimum limits: “The minimum requirements are that the driver and or the delivery network company have to maintain at least a $100,000 for personal injury arising out of an accident and 25,000, for property damage arising out of the accident,” Lynch said. She added that the rules were modeled on NCOIL guidance and intended to close coverage gaps when drivers are engaged in commercial delivery activity.
Committee members raised repeated questions about when corporate coverage would apply — for example, whether a driver who simply has the app open but is not actively delivering would be covered. Lynch said whether a logged‑in driver is covered can depend on the DNC’s terms and the app’s “available period” definitions, and that some issues would need to be specified in companies’ terms and conditions. Representative Clemons and other members also pressed whether injured third parties could pursue both a driver’s personal insurer and the DNC; Lynch said the bill did not change the right to sue but was intended to ensure coverage exists to respond to claims.
The subcommittee approved sending HB2175 to the full committee (recorded vote: 9–0). The bill was amended during the subcommittee process to clarify coverage periods and minimum limits.
Next steps: HB2175 will be considered by the full committee, where members may further refine definitions of the “delivery available period” and the precise trigger for corporate coverage.
