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Guide in Handling Insurance Claims BHSI (ROW except USA)

  • Updated

Overview

Airtasker Insurance is a third-party liability policy that insures Taskers registered in the Airtasker marketplace for their liability to third parties for personal injury or property damage whilst performing activities (not otherwise excluded) during a task on Airtasker.

When a Tasker has damaged a property, the Customer or third party usually contacts us to make a claim through Airtasker Insurance.


There are two types of claims: Sub-excess and Over-excess.

  • Sub-excess are claims with values below AUD$10,000 in Australia or equivalent in other countries (except USA).

Note:

- AU / UK / NZ / Singapore: the deductible is AUD10,000(*)

- For Ireland: the deductible is EUR2,500

(*) The deductible is a fixed $10k AUD and will also be as of the date of loss.
The claim amount in a different currency will be converted to AUD at the time of the date of loss too.

  • Over-excess are claims with values above the insurance excess which is AUD$10,000 in Australia or equivalent in other countries (except USA).

Insurance excess is the sum of money that needs to be paid by the insured (the Tasker) to the insurance company Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI) for any claim lodgement so that assessment can be done or settlement can be paid out to the claimant, in this case, the Customer or 3rd Party.

 

Checklist

  • Confirm if the Customer/3rd Party has an Airtasker account.

  • Check if the email address used to contact us is their registered email address in Airtasker. Otherwise, we first need to do User verification.

  • Check if the Task was assigned.

  • Check the Task location

 

Insurance Documents (Global)

Reminder:
We only provide the documents to users already registered on the platform. If an unregistered user has contacted us and requested the below documents, ask them to create an account and provide the related Insurance Help Centre article.

Updated for 2023-2024

Old documents (kept for reference)

  • Certificate of Currency (COC) - CGU (Outdated - this is only included as a reference for previous insurance provider)
  • Policy Schedule (CGU Do not use for new claims made after 4pm, June 30, 2022, please wait for the new Policy Schedule from the new Insurer)
  • Policy Wording (BHSI Do not use for new claims made after 4pm, June 30, 2022, please wait for the new Policy Schedule from the new Insurer)
  • Excluded Activities Exclusions.pdf (BHSI)

 

Internal Process

General Insurance Query

Insurance Query

Scope

Macro

Tasker Personal Accident Cover

Any specific enquiry about Tasker injuring themselves or insurance coverage for injury to the Tasker.

 

If TPD (Total Permanent Disability) or death can be covered by BHSI regardless of the amount.

IPCTPAC

General (non-specific)        

Any general (non-specific) enquiry about insurance and its coverage. Users asking whether Airtasker provides insurance.        

GIE

Specific or Scenario-based (General)

 

Users asking about insurance relating to a specific scenario or task.

 

For general insurance about specific coverage that doesn't fall under exclusions.

GIESIS

Specific or Scenario-based (Poor workmanship)

Enquiries about specific coverage for Taskers who do a bad/poor job.

GIEPW

Document Request

Users requesting a copy of Insurance documents for their reference; Users who already visited the insurance link and want to secure a copy of the insurance policy.

CUSTOMER: IDR (provide only the COC)
TASKER: IDRT (provide COC, policy schedule and policy wording)

Excess Details        

Users specifically ask about the excess details.

Note: Never provide the excess amount to the Customer/3rd party

GIEEP

Tasker reporting a potential Claim

Taskers contacting and reporting that they’ve damaged Customer’s property and are inquiring about Airtasker insurance.

IPCTIC

 

Specific Insurance Query

Some users may contact us and inquire if the Task they have posted or are about to post is covered by Airtasker Insurance. If we have already provided the general information to the user and they insist on asking for the coverage, we may contact Modern Risk for confirmation.

  • Modern Risk email: enquiry@modernrisksolutions.com 
  • When forwarding the information from Modern Risk to the user, we may quote their response. Sample ticket: 1980446

Note: Modern Risk is our insurance broker where we can seek insurance-related advice.

 

 

Reminders:

  • We do NOT confirm if a task is covered or not covered by Airtasker Insurance.

  • We do NOT decline users in filing a claim even if the task is not covered by Insurance.

  • Airtasker must NOT proactively sell insurance to users. We need to advise them first to settle the matter directly with the other user.

  • Quality Assignment can handle General/Specific Insurance queries if there’s no Task or the Task is unassigned.

  • Insurance queries from Quality Assignment should be transferred to Task Resolution for the following scenarios:
    - User has an assigned/completed/closed Task.
    - User is inquiring about insurance but Task was taken offsite.
    - Unregistered email address/No account but would like to file a claim.

Admin Tag formats

  • Possible Insurance Claim (ticket number) - Customer reporting damage
  • Ongoing Insurance Claims (Problem ticket number) - Once we receive the incident form from the Customer.

 

Insurance Claim: Pre-assessment

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Checklist in reviewing incident reports and evidence

Sub-excess and claims not covered/rejected by insurers

  • Review the details and information provided by both parties.

  • Investigate the Task such as the Task description, Tasker's offer prior to the Task assignment, Task pm, when did the incident happen, did anyone admit liability, did they have a direct settlement, and any attachments included to properly assess the incident.

  • Check the PM if there's any indication of cash payment.

  • Review if there’s an issue of personal injury. If there is, highlight and consult with Jewel Coleman first.

  • Review the account history of both users if they have any previous claims records, disputes, poor workmanship and other complaints. Try to identify any pattern of behaviour.

  • Photos/videos should clearly show the damaged area or item. We may need to ask for photos showing the whole body of the item or the whole area of the damaged property.

  • Quotes for repair or replacement should match the claim amount of the Customer. Make sure to review the details of the quote thoroughly to ensure that it is the right quote for the right damaged item.

  • Make sure the date of the quote is after the date of the incident.

  • Quotes for repair and purchase invoices should be official and must clearly indicate the following:

    - Must be from a registered business with letterhead, ABN/CRN/NZBN, address and contact details.
    - Must specify the repair description and/or item/model number with the description of the product.
    - Itemised quote for each service and or item.

  • An electronic copy of the online purchase may be accepted as long as it can support the claim amount and we can confirm its legitimacy (ie. has the name of the business, address, date of purchase etc.).

  • Assess the risk involved in terms of possible further damage to the property and/or impact to the business if the claim is not settled, for example, if a broken window is not fixed, someone can break into the Customer's property and someone can get hurt in the process.

  • Assess the risk of escalation to the authorities or social media. This can be done by assessing the tone of voice of users in their emails.

  • Assess the lifetime value of both users, Customers and Taskers. Do they complete or assign high-value tasks, is there an increase in the frequency of usage, what kind of tasks do they normally assign i.e. Customer could be using Airtasker to support his/her business for example furniture deliveries. Can we justify the money we are about to spend on them?

Reminder:

Before rejecting or paying a claim, if there’s anything you are not sure of, please seek assistance using side conversation -  SLACK: Insurance and Dispute assistance


Over-excess

  • All information provided by the Customer and Tasker should be attached in the email sent to the insurer ie: photos of the damaged item, a quote for repair/replacement, purchase invoice.

  • Share our investigation with insurers. Any email, PM, additional statement relevant to a claim, any pattern of bad behaviour i.e., deliberately not taking necessary caution during a task causing damage, etc, must be shared with insurers. We can send screenshots of PM, email etc. to insurers.

  • If we received any additional information from any user that is relevant to a claim, we must inform our insurers. i.e.: the tasker provided proof that he/she has settled the claim directly with the Customer and there’s proof of the Customer agreeing to accept this settlement.

  • If we discover any additional information we have originally missed during our investigation, we must share it with insurers.

  • Any threat for escalations to the authorities/social media or demand for payment by the Customer/3rd party must also be shared with insurers.

 

Insurance Claim: Post-assessment

 

Sub-excess Claims

 

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Notes:

Reminders:

  • We usually settle only 50% of the initial claim amount provided by the Customer/3rd Party for Sub-excess claims. However, depending on the investigation and assessment, we may settle it in full.

  • When we decline claims $10,000 and below, we shouldn’t be mentioning PW as the reason when we reject claims. We ALWAYS inform the user that the claim was declined due to sub-excess.

  • The Claim Reference number for Sub-excess is: Airtasker-TaskID

  • If the sub-excess claim has been denied/withdrawn, and the Customer submitted a new claim that is over-excess, we will close the sub-excess claim and create a new Problem ticket for the over-excess claim. This is to separate the handling time of AirSupport and BHSI.

  • If an offer has been made and the Customer did not accept it or failed to return the Deed of release after giving them ample time, we can advise the user that the offer has been withdrawn and we will no longer be offering any settlement amount.

 

Over-excess Claims

 

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Notes:

  • BHSI email: claimsnoticeaustralia@bhspecialty.com (new claims)

  • CGU email (old insurer): liabilityclaims@iag.com.au (follow up, for claims made before 4 pm, June 30 2022)

  • Accounts email: accounts@airtasker.com 

  • Problem tickets for Over-excess claims will be placed on hold until we receive the final assessment from BHSI.

  • If the claim has been returned by BHSI as they see it as sub-excess, we will retain the following details in ZD:
    - Claim reference number - will still be BHSI reference number
    - Claim Assessor - will still be BHSI

  • The subject of the email can be updated to: Insurance Claims Over-excess change to Sub-excess TASK ID

  • ZD form for OB ticket to P is Outbound (Task related)

  • Admin Tag to be updated to: Insurance Claims settled/denied/withdrawn (Problem ticket number) - Once a decision has been made

  • For Claims in NZ that are above NZ$10,000 insurance excess, they need to be lodged within 14 days.

 

Contribution Request Process

 

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Notes:

  • If a restricted Tasker comes back and would like to have their account reinstated, the ZD ticket form for the new ticket will be the Account Appeals form, and MRC is Reactivation Request.

 

Weekly Settlement Request to Accounts

 

Notes:

Macros

  • General insurance macros > Zendesk > Q&A Team > Pre-completion > Insurance

  • Insurance claims macros > Zendesk > TR Team > Pre-completion > Insurance

 

FAQ’s

1. Admin Notes Format

2. Can the Tasker pay a settlement amount in instalments?

Yes. We can offer instalments to Taskers. It could be 2 or 4 times instalments weekly depending on your judgement. But if the Tasker failed to pay the instalment, we need to restrict the account until proof of payment has been provided.

3. What if the Customer already signed the deed poll and at the same time Tasker mentioned that they already paid the Customer for the damage, how do we proceed?

If there’s evidence of direct payment: No need to ask Tasker to pay the settlement amount and educate in the future to inform us if they made any direct payment to the Customer.

If no evidence of direct payment: Insist that we need them to pay the settlement amount required and if they really paid the Customer directly, they may provide us with a screenshot of direct payment.

4. If Tasker’s account is already deactivated (personal reasons/KDU users), do we still require them to pay a percentage or do we settle it in full?

Yes, we still require them to pay a contribution/excess payment. However, in our email, we need to omit the part about account limitation since their account is already deactivated.

5. What if the settlement offer was accepted by the Customer and at the same time the Customer would like to pursue the Tasker directly regarding the remaining amount, how do we proceed?

We can offer options to the Customer either to accept the settlement amount or pursue the Tasker directly with the full amount of their claim. Let the Customer know that if they choose to pursue the Tasker, the offer we have made is then withdrawn and it won’t be offered at any time in the future and that the claim matter will be considered as closed off. We inform the Customer that we do not assist in contacting the Tasker to request the remaining amount as the settlement we offered is final.

6.  What if the Deed of release has already been signed but based on the Task conversation Tasker and Customer agreed to just cancel the Task. Should we withdraw the offer or should we still proceed with the settlement and not ask for Tasker’s contribution?

Leave it as is as the deed of release has been signed. If we’ve already asked the settlement amount to the Tasker, we can get back to the Tasker and explain that it looks like they’ve already made a settlement directly with the Customer thus we are waiving the settlement payment.

7. Customer is claiming for Airtasker insurance and Tasker expressed that they’ve already settled it directly with the Customer. Tasker was able to provide evidence of the settlement.

We can’t prevent the Customer from making a claim, however, if it’s sub-excess, we can immediately decline w/o settlement and explain that Tasker was also able to provide evidence of direct settlement. If it’s over-excess, forward it to BHSI and include the evidence provided by the Tasker.

8. In terms of sub-contracting that is over-excess, if BHSI requires that we’ll be the one to decline the claim, should we proceed?

Send a response to the Customer that the claim is not covered due to subcontracting to an unregistered user, therefore the insurance policy does not apply. Just say that we note that you have decided not to obtain the details of the tasker by completing the sign-off form as final assistance offered by Airtasker. We have therefore concluded this matter as closed off. Sample ticket #2540439

9. What if the Customer comes back with a new quote (over-excess) after being declined due to sub-excess?

The Customer's first claim was denied due to sub-excess then, later on, they insisted on making a claim for a new amount of $10,600. We no longer need to ask them to complete another incident form. We can proceed in forwarding their claim to BHSI and clearly indicate on the "note" part that the Customer previously made a claim amounting to $10,000 which was denied due to sub-excess.

10. What if two quotes or amounts have been provided by the Customer in the incident form?

The Customer completed the incident form and indicated 2 claim amounts ($10,000 sub-excess) and ($10,600 over-excess), no actual quote was provided. We can proceed in forwarding the claim to BHSI  for assessment.

The customer completed the incident form and indicated 2 claim amounts ($10,000 sub-excess) and ($10,600 over-excess), the quote provided is only $10,000. We can ask for confirmation from the Customer of the correct amount they are claiming. If it's $10,000, then follow the sub-excess, if $10,600 then we can proceed in forwarding this to BHSI.

 

11. Third-party claim

A third party is someone who is not the Customer or Tasker (either the Customer’s neighbour or friend). For any claims involving a third party, they should create an Airtasker account and should be the one to file the claim and not the Customer.

12. Refund tickets from BHSI: Insurance Australia Limited - Payment Reference

We can use Side Convo to send an email to Lisa via accounts@airtasker.com. Advise that we received a refund from BHSI amounting to XXX and include the BHSI reference number. Then attach the remittance document sent by BHSI. Submit the ticket as Solved.

13. Business Numbers

  • The New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) is a unique 13-digit identifier for all New Zealand businesses, including companies, sole traders, partnerships, registered charities, trusts and government agencies.

  • The Company Registration Number (CRN) serves as a unique identifier in the register of the UK's Companies House. It consists of 8-10 characters – numbers and letters in some cases.

  •  The Australian Business Number (ABN) is a unique 11-digit identifier issued by the Australian Business Register (ABR)

 

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