DENVER -- When Amy Rigney first started driving for Lyft, giving rides at night seemed like the perfect way for the stay-at-home mother of three to help her family make ends meet.

"There for a while I was making really good money," she said. "The weekends, I stayed out until 4 a.m. some nights taking rides."

But on May 6, Rigney said she was leaving a Lyft queue parking lot near the Pepsi Center to pick up a ride, when the entry gate slammed into her car.

"The gentleman went to push it open for me, but he pushed it the wrong way, and it ricocheted all the way down my car," she said.

The gate shattered her windshield, dented the car's frame and caused nearly $4,000 in damage, according to a written estimate from an auto repair shop obtained by Rigney.

Her auto insurance quickly told her it would not cover the accident damage because she had been driving for Lyft at the time.

"I thought that Lyft would be like, 'You had a ride, we cover this,'" said Rigney.

Lyft's policy is clearly stated on its website. If a driver has accepted a ride, Lyft insurance provides primary coverage.

But Rigney said that after two weeks of phone calls and emails, she still didn't know how much Lyft would cover or when they would send a check, which was even more difficult because she could no longer drive for the company while her car was damaged.

"I feel like I let my family down. Because that little bit of money helped," said Rigney, sobbing. "It made it for a week when we didn't have groceries; we had groceries. It made Christmas."

After Denver7 contacted Lyft Monday, Rigney said she finally got some answers and learned a check was in the mail.

In a statement, Lyft tells Denver7:

"We work to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. In this case, payment was issued today, about 10 days after the claim was opened."

Rigney said she is relieved to have an answer, but she also learned that Lyft has a $2,500 deductible, so the company will pay for less than $1400 of the damage.

"I wish I was told when I started this that this is what could happen," said Rigney. "I wouldn't have worked for Lyft or I would have gotten rideshare coverage."

Uber has a similar insurance policy to Lyft, but that company has a $1,000 deductible.

According to The RideShare Guy, a blog and podcast for rideshare drivers, several companies in Colorado now offer additional coverage for rideshare drivers, some for as little as $6 a month. Click here to see a list of those companies.

