Airtasker Insurance Concerns

rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 12:04
Last edited 22/10/2024 - 15:28

Hello Team, I have been dealing with Airtasker past 4 years, however recently I had an issue where I have done a job of moving a fridge from garage to pantry & while doing the move there were 2 scratches from the fridge to the parquetry floor which was recently done. Customer advised she would like to go through Insurance. The fridge was not in a good condition & I had to free up the door rollers & clean fridge before moving to ensure safe handling.

Airtasker had a clause where it says - If the job does not go through Airtasker then Insurance will not cover. I have done nearly 1000 jobs with good completion rate.

Now after giving ample of information to Airtasker, they - Airtasker Insurance company)are advising that it happened due to my negligence and I have to pay $3600 to the customer as Insurance will not cover or I can go through public liability insurance. I do not have a job or public liability & Airtasker is the only mean of earning right now to pay my bills. They have stopped my account & given me 14 days to pay the bill or go on a payment plan. Any help would be highly appreciated.

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  • lunchbox99 on 22/10/2024 - 12:27
    +15

    What a ridiculous system where the company who might be liable for the bill gets to decide at their discretion if the liability is on you.

    I would ask them to be specific - show me how my action is considered negligent and show me the exact part of the insurance T&Cs that they are relying on for the exclusion. I don't use airtasker so I have no idea if they will just ignore you.

    • CurlCurl on 22/10/2024 - 12:37

      What a ridiculous system where the company who might be liable for the bill gets to decide at their discretion if the liability is on you.

      Airtasker had a clause where it says - If the job does not go through Airtasker then Insurance will not cover.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/10/2024 - 12:44
        +5

        I’m so confused… did he do this outside of airtasker or what?

        • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 13:02
          +2

          @Jimothy: Job was done through Airtasker, however they are putting me under the liability of negligence.

          • JimmyF on 22/10/2024 - 13:16
            +6

            @rehan770:

            however they are putting me under the liability of negligence.

            Well if that's the case, then basically any property damage done while doing a job would be classed as "negligence". So the insurance policy is next to useless.

          • CurlCurl on 22/10/2024 - 15:28
            +1

            @rehan770:

            Jimothy: Job was done through Airtasker, however they are putting me under the liability of negligence.

            You have edited your post. You originally said the job was done outside Airtasker or words to that effect.

      • lunchbox99 on 22/10/2024 - 13:02
        +3

        If the job didn't go through airtasker then this whole thread has nothing to do with airtasker. It's just some private dude doing a job for someone.

        I see OP replied above. It did go through airtasker.

    • SlickMick on 23/10/2024 - 10:11

      Sounds like every insurance policy I've ever seen.

      Our house insurance wouldn't cover the damage caused by a leak behind the shower that wasn't discovered for years.
      It was our negligence for not knowing it was leaking and resolve promptly before the damage.

      Airtasker insurance would primarily be to cover negligence… so they exclude that.

      • lunchbox99 on 23/10/2024 - 18:16

        You should have taken them to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). OP could do that too if he feels the decision is unreasonable.

  • pegaxs on 22/10/2024 - 12:28
    +2

    The first thing I would be asking myself is, did I cause the damage to the floor or was it existing and convenient for the customer to dump their want for a new floor on my insurance/Airtasker account.

    Alternatively, if you did cause the damage, is to chuck up a job listing on Airtasker to repair their floor.

    Or, if you think the bill to repair is excessive, then you should request a breakdown of the bill and get an alternative opinion/quote. It may be a $200 repair job but their “brother” just happens to do floors…

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/10/2024 - 12:46
      +1

      Yep also assumes client is reasonable lol
      But I have to wonder, in a private setting if no formal contract, what IS the go with this kind of damage?

      Customer engaged op to do a task for payment
      Task done

  • TEER3X on 22/10/2024 - 13:08

    recently I had an issue where I have done a job of moving a fridge from garage to pantry & while doing the move there were 2 scratches from the fridge to the vinyl floor which was recently done.

    Did you create the scratches, were they their before, or not sure?

    $3600 sounds a bit steep, what are the actual estimates for fixing it?

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 13:49

      The task was advertised as "I need to move a fridge about 20mt from on room to another. The floors have recently been polished so I need someone with a trolley and who won’t scratch my floors". I have 2 photos with minute scratches on the floor which could have been done before but Im not sure. I have done so many jobs in Brisbane confidentally but never had a customer who would do this to me. I believe in Karma & somewhere along the lines this will affect people who have done harm to me.

      • Drakesy on 22/10/2024 - 17:14
        +2

        This person sounds like a red flag

        • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 18:07

          @Drakesy: What are you worried about - I have no harm to you mate.

          • Drakesy on 22/10/2024 - 18:25
            +1

            @rehan770: *the person that wrote the ad

            • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 18:30

              @Drakesy: Completely agree with you. I feel she was a bit tricky as she said to me " I went through Airtasker as they cover insurance" but she did not assume that this would create a havoc to someone elses life.

  • 87percent on 22/10/2024 - 13:08
    +1

    did you actually see the damage that you caused? wonder whats the odds that the floor was already damaged, and the person knew that her bond would get held for the damages

    • JimmyF on 22/10/2024 - 13:14

      OP said the vinyl floor was recently done, so pretty good chance they did it, even more so if they claim the fridge rollers had been jammed.

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 13:59
      +1

      @87percent: I remember this lady is a naturopath & she was busy with her appointments & she advised her mother in law to give me a hand to complete the task. I also remember her MIL tried to push the fridge after it was moved with a trolley on the floor as there was not much room to manoveure the trolley. I did advise the lady not to push the fridge as that might scratch the floor which literally did happen in the same spot. However I cannot prove that as no one else was there to prove my innocence.

      • mikekiwimike on 23/10/2024 - 08:49

        I would say that the onus is on her to prove you caused the scratch on the floor, on top of this if she had someone help you do the job (her MIL was helping) then I she would have no way to prove you caused the issue in the first place.

        I think you can still get some free legal advice through Citizens Advice (if it still exists), otherwise you should be getting someone to write a letter on your behalf for Airtasker as I don’t think you have explained this well enough.

        Last option would be to quit the platform, at the very least do not accept a payment plan or any liability at this point until you have legal advice.

        The above is my opinion not legal advice 😀

  • JimmyF on 22/10/2024 - 13:13

    Airtasker had a clause where it says - If the job does not go through Airtasker then Insurance will not cover.

    This is a strange statement to make. Was the fridge move a Airtasker job or not?

    Or did you do this as an 'extra' job while doing a different airtasker job for the client?

    Now after giving ample of information to Airtasker, they - Airtasker Insurance company)are advising that it happened due to my negligence and I have to pay $3600 to the customer as Insurance will not cover or I can go through public liability insurance

    So airtasker deemed you damaged the customers floor, so why is their insurance not covering it?

    Looking at the airtasker insurance, it covers Tasker’s liability for property damage and moving a fridge isn't on the excluded list.

    Are you registered with airtasker? Did you sub out this job?

    Have you made a claim with airtasker?

    I'm not sure what fees you pay to airtasker for jobs, but sounds like there are fees to cover the insurance that airtasker offers. If so, then you are entitled to make a claim I would think. But like all the policies, the aim of the game is give people false hope they have coverage and get out of paying it as much as possible!

    Have a read over

    https://support.airtasker.com/articles/how-does-third-party-…

    • merriweather on 22/10/2024 - 13:18

      The Insurance Policy does not cover poor or faulty workmanship, poor quality work or guarantee any work performed. Also, it does not cover you if the work you have completed fails to perform – e.g. you install a burglar alarm and it doesn’t work.

      I'd argue that scraping the floor while moving a fridge is probably poor workmanship.

      • JimmyF on 22/10/2024 - 13:27
        +1

        I'd argue that scraping the floor while moving a fridge is probably poor workmanship

        Tasker did what was requested, you could argue that the fridge was in poor condition and not fit for moving if the rollers had jammed up.

        If you want to use the line it was poor workmanship, then most property damage would fall under this claim, so the insurance is next to useless for the tasker.

        Either way, the OP is screwed if airtasker has said no. More of a lesson for everyone else, that these companies don't have your back!

        • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 13:35

          thanks jimmy, im thinking of a dispute and going through AFCA which will take long time, however im just very upset right now as $3600 is a big amount & if i agree to them then i would be liable to do the payment. Any ideas or any suggestions would be appreciated

          • JimmyF on 22/10/2024 - 14:03
            +2

            @rehan770:

            Any ideas or any suggestions would be appreciated

            If you want to keep your airtasker account, then you don't have much choice. Pay the fees to get it back, keep working.

            Be warned, that oaying the fees, and lodging a dispute with say AFCA will most likely end up with your airtasker account being disabled regardless of the outcome. Its how these 'gig' companies work. First sign of any trouble they cut you loose. Uber is the same.

        • merriweather on 22/10/2024 - 13:49

          so the insurance is next to useless for the tasker.

          yeah i mean that wouldn't really surprise me, and i'd say it's probably pretty plausible.

        • Crow K on 22/10/2024 - 16:34

          Tasker did what was requested, you could argue that the fridge was in poor condition and not fit for moving if the rollers had jammed up.

          Tasker was requested to move a fridge without scraping the floor (method unspecified) what on earth are you talking about with this "I would argue that the fridge was not fit for moving because of jammed wheels"?

  • merriweather on 22/10/2024 - 13:15
    +2

    well what the (profanity) is the purpose of the insurance then

  • AussieDaddy on 22/10/2024 - 13:50

    A Current Affair

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 14:03

      With due respect - Do you think current affair would really help me.

      • AussieDaddy on 22/10/2024 - 14:56
        +1

        If there are other similar cases, I believe they'll look into them and expose them (that's if Airtasker has done the same thing to others). If you know others in a similar boat contact ACA and see what they have to say. And good luck.

  • ihbh on 22/10/2024 - 14:11
    +1

    I feel for you OP.

    Based on the description, it's a high risk, low return job for you (Did you get paid much?). Next time, give these jobs a miss.

    I hope things work out for you with this one.

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 14:25

      It was $100 job of which Airtasker took $20 fees, plus time to travel was about 50k ms to & fro. So technically $75 is what I made of the process.

      • geekcohen on 22/10/2024 - 14:54

        Not even worth it for $75 by the time you take kms into it and then less any tax (say 30%). So its probably maybe $40 at the end of it.

        • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 15:30
          +3

          yes - I agree with you but I keep myself happy as its paying my bills & with no job something is better than nothing.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/10/2024 - 22:06
        +1

        50km round trip… you’re undervaluing yourself.

  • Ash-Say on 22/10/2024 - 14:39
    +5

    I would lodge an AFCA complaint if Airtasker insists you to pay such an absurd amount of money. They need to demonstrate how it is neglience on your side and more importantly how it is excluded from an insurance. Save a copy of their insurance T&Cs.

    If they suspend your account, lodge a complaint with Fair Work and I would also lodge a case with NCAT(or equivalent) for lost income for next 5 years at minimum based on last 12 months income.

    Don't let this mob get away with this crap.

    Good luck!

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 15:35

      I spoke to the Insurance Guy & he was pushing me to pay the $3600 or go on a payment plan as they have made the decision he says without even sending someone to have a look - believing on photos & pushing it on to me.

      • Ash-Say on 22/10/2024 - 15:43
        +5

        Dont talk to them over the phone. Get an email send a polite email stating your position and call out that there was no negligence. As per the T&C, the Airtasker insurance should cover it and no exclusion applies based on review of the insurance T&C.

        Tell them to lodge a formal internal complaint and share details of complaint referemce number along with insurance company details so you can eacalate this matter with AFCA to make an independent decision.

        Few points to help you:

        AFC case management fee is nearly $1,000 if the matter is not resolved during referral stage and this will be charged to the firm irrespective of outcome. Once the case officer has made a decision and still not in your favour, tell them that you don't agree and escalate it to a determination stage which will cost well over $2,000 to the firm. No financial firm likes dragging the matter and paying this much fees.

        There is no charge to you so push it to last stage of complaint process so the financial firm gets hit with highest fees which could be over $3000 eventually irrespective of outcome.

        • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 16:18

          @Ash-Say: Thank You - You are a born legend, hope they settle without going through hassles.

    • Noblejoker on 23/10/2024 - 11:52
      +1

      Liability insurance is supposed to cover you when you are negligent
      To say it isn't covered because you are negligent is ridiculous
      Unless of course it is not actually insurance and just Airtasker BS

      I suspect Airtasker are avoiding making a claim on their policy, hoping you are silly enough to go away
      As per Ash-Say - write to them and tell them you wish to claim on the Airtasker insurance policy
      You want a written confirmation as to the claim being lodged and the outcome
      You may like to let them know that if the claim is denied, you will then be going to AFCA
      (In theory, you cannot go to AFCA till the claim is denied)

      I think you will find miraculously that the claim is lodged and accepted - good luck

      • source - I am in the insurance industry
  • Dollar General on 22/10/2024 - 15:14

    Fight it

    If the fridge was in poor condition, fridge owner should be partly responsible too. $3600 is excessive to replace some damaged vinyl flooring

    I would push it back onto Airtasker to deal with

    • ihbh on 22/10/2024 - 15:26
      +1

      If the fridge was in poor condition, fridge owner should be partly responsible too

      I don't think this is the issue here. Unless something fell off the fridge and scratched the floor.

      OP clarified later that MIL pushed fridge which caused scratch.

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 15:31

      I appologize as its parquetry flooring and not vinyl

  • freefall101 on 22/10/2024 - 16:01

    Did the person contact you first to repair the floor? That's the airtasker process, they should have come to you first. You could then organise to get it repaired yourself and it'll likely be a lot cheaper.

    Tell the insurance company you want to know the exception as per the T&Cs on why you're liable and a copy of the invoice/quote for the repairs.

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 16:26

      @freefall101: No, I received an email from the insurance company asking me to provide all information in regards to this matter. Job was done in March. email received in May, replied instantly & was advised they would come back to me - never heard back & now received a letter from insurance people to pay $3600 or go on payment plan. When spoke to Insurance agent he said they have already made the decision. I asked them whether they sent any assesor to check if they are paying the right amount & he said no - they are going with customers quote which I think is unfair insurance practice.

      • Ash-Say on 22/10/2024 - 16:45

        I received $4300 quote recently to replace existing 72m2 babmoo flooring with water resistant 12mm flooring including underneath foaming. This also includes taking away old flooring and any rubbish.

        I find $3600 completly absurd for couple of scratches. Follow the steps as I stated above and make it clear that the insurance made biased decision without performing any onsite inspection and completly relied on the customer quote which they are yet to share for your review. You are also not obliged to go through the customer repair company.

      • Dollar General on 22/10/2024 - 18:34

        I would advise the insurance company the damage was caused by the mother in law and explain what she did to cause the damage

        • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 18:45
          -1

          Insurance company was not listening to me & wanted me to agree on payment plan. When I said I have to take this through AFCA he was fine with that too. Mother in law issue was explained to them in my first email but insurance people would not listen to the facts. Not making any racial comments but I hate people who speak poor English, nonsense people who come to this country and make more money & live in million dollar houses here.

  • blitz on 22/10/2024 - 16:47

    Airtasker had a clause where it says - If the job does not go through Airtasker then Insurance will not cover.

    AirTasker has insurance to cover AirTasker. They are paying for it and it is primarily to cover them, even if they call it third party insurance. I would be surprised if they ever pay out any cases: why would they? AirTasker's entire business model depends on possibly unskilled people doing jobs for other people (not saying you are unskilled, OP). The risk exposure for an insurance company would be insanely high: they'd be paying out all the time. This sounds like a terrible situation, sorry OP.

    • Jolakot on 22/10/2024 - 16:57

      Look above, this went through Airtasker, they charged OP a fee for the job

    • netjock on 22/10/2024 - 18:39

      AirTasker has insurance to cover AirTasker

      That would be funny. Airtasker confusing their business insurance (PI, public liability, product liability) with actually covering their contractors on platform doing the work.

      Imagine if they told the customer. We decline to cover your damage done by someone you found on the platform because the insurance is to cover us for any claims you bring against us. You will have to chase the contractor yourself.

  • Kongzi on 22/10/2024 - 18:27

    Just get a floor mat

    • rehan770 on 22/10/2024 - 18:34

      If you want to convince the insurance agent then I would love to buy 10 floor mats instead of one. Its not that easy my friend.

  • netjock on 22/10/2024 - 18:44

    Most of the platforms hide behind some kind of junk policies that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling until you need to claim from it.

    I am pretty sure that since the client knew immediately to claim against insurance they know the drill with the insurance and you are just the unlucky recipient.

    I've used find a tradie platforms that have confirmed the PI insurance is valid before letting them on the platform. Whether they have skilled to do the job is a different issue.

  • 82norm on 23/10/2024 - 13:49

    Did you take any photos of the scratches, damages.

    • rehan770 on 28/10/2024 - 19:22

      Yes I did

  • Aust on 23/10/2024 - 21:40

    Have you lodged a claim or just speaking to airtasker rep?
    If yes have they advised you in writing why you have to pay the $3,600?
    Have they advised you what to do if you want to dispute their decision?

    If no i suggest you ask for a claim form and you wish to formally lodge a claim.

    A quick google show $10million liability for a handman with AAMI at $539.04 per year.
    Might pay to get your own cover for jobs outside Airtasker.

  • kiitos on 24/10/2024 - 08:01

    Did they say what the $3600 is covering? How big an area is the parquetry? Are they claiming for replacing/refinishing the whole area?

    • rehan770 on 28/10/2024 - 19:21

      @kiitos : It's just a small peice of floor but one of the company has advised to replace the whole section out.

  • Noblejoker on 24/10/2024 - 10:04

    I just looked more closely at Airtasker insurance
    It does NOT cover OP to perform the task I am afraid
    It only covers the person they work for

    https://support.airtasker.com/articles/how-does-third-party-…

    As a Tasker, please always remember that, as an independent contractor, you’re still primarily accountable for personal injury or damage caused by you to third parties – so please take care when completing tasks.

    I would suggest anyone doing Airtasker work has their own insurance, just like any small business should
    Bad luck for OP with the (understandable) misunderstanding

  • x x on 24/10/2024 - 17:26

    If you read the fine print you'll see Airtasker don't have any useful insurance. I had a guy cut through my gas mains doing tree stumping and they wouldn't cover it. Police and fire trucks turned up to shut down my street and I had to pay $800 to get it fixed. They are a disgrace and someone needs to shake them up. Paying 30% in fees is outrageous.

    • rehan770 on 28/10/2024 - 19:19

      @x x: Yes I absolutely agree with the outrageous fees & I have made a lot of money for them & no doubt it has paid my bills for past 5 years too but this issue has absolutely made a nightmare out of it.

  • foursaken on 31/10/2024 - 14:57

    All you people constantly amaze me at your complete lack of knowledge and the assumptions you go on to make. Independent contractors (air taskers) are liable for third party damage, full stop. If you didn't know that, then you didn't read the basic information on the Airtasker website and made incorrect assumptions.

    But the person who asked you to move their fridge is also a dud. I'd simply deny it was you. They're going to need to try to recover the cost of the damage from you, and instead of hiring a professional in the first place, they hired another dud. So unlikely they're going to do that because that'll cost them money they didn't spend in the first place.

    You went into someone's house and scratched the floor - who do you think is going to have to pay for that?! Do you really think Airtasker has insurance that covers ANYONE? Come on Millennials. Do better.

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