Taxi association sending Ottawa Uber driver info to insurance companies

Ottawacitizen.com
Nov. 8, 2015
By Meghan Hurley

The Canadian Taxi Association is battling illegal Uber drivers operating in Ottawa by conducting undercover stings to gather driver information to send to insurance companies - an effort that has led to at least two Ottawa Uber drivers having their insurance cancelled.

So far in Ottawa, the association has collected the licence plates and driver profiles of more than 200 drivers who work for the ride-sharing service, said association president Marc Andre Way, who is also vice-president of Coventry Connections.

“We do that constantly. It’s an ongoing effort where we collect a database of licence plates of those who are driving illegally within our cities,” Way said, adding they’ve been lobbying insurance companies since Uber surfaced in Canada.

In a statement, Uber said it advises drivers to contact their insurance companies before working for it. Uber has said that every ride is backed by $5 million in liability insurance in case the driver’s policy isn’t enough.

However, Uber said it announced earlier this fall that it is working with Intact Financial, an auto insurance provider, to develop an “innovative insurance plan specifically tailored for ride-sharing in Canada.”

But until insurance companies come up with a solution for ride-sharing, using personal insurance as an Uber driver will remain unacceptable, Aviva Canada says, which is why they have been cracking down.

The information from the taxi association’s undercover operations led Aviva Canada to cancel two policies of Ottawa Uber drivers who used their personal insurance to chauffeur passengers around town, which the insurance company says is against policy.

Aviva Canada lapsed another Ottawa driver’s insurance policy at renewal after they were outed as an Uber driver, while a fourth Ottawa customer was allowed to keep their insurance because of extenuating circumstances.

Glen Cooper, an Aviva Canada spokesman, said the policies were cancelled after an investigation following Way’s tip that Uber drivers were using personal insurance for ride-sharing.

Cooper said Aviva Canada has no issue with the concept of Uber, but a personal insurance policy doesn’t cover the drivers or their passengers.

“As soon as they engage in driving for commercial use, which this is, it brings a whole new set of risks,” Cooper said.

Cooper said Aviva Canada currently doesn’t have an insurance solution for ride-sharing, but is actively looking for one.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada is doing the same thing, says spokesman Steve Kee.

The bureau set up a committee to come up with a legislative framework with solutions for ride-sharing, Kee said.

“It’s setting the stage to define the issue and talk about ways that we could come up with the solution,” Kee said.

The concern with ride-sharing is that drivers may be unaware of insurance gaps, their risks and their limits with a policy, which could result in coverage implications, Kee said.

Way said the association was motivated to collect information on Uber drivers because they have taken tens of thousands of fares from cab drivers, slashing their incomes and decreasing the resale value of taxi plates.

The city has responded to Uber with a series of sting operations, calling the ride-sharing service a “serious risk to the public.” Bylaw officials have laid charges against more than 60 Uber drivers since the ride-sharing company launched in Ottawa in October 2014.

A review was ordered of the city’s taxi and limousine regulations, including potential regulations to deal with new technologies such as Uber’s ride-sharing service.

Mayor Jim Watson had said he hoped to have a solution that is a “fair compromise” by the end of 2015, although the taxi by-law review is expected to be tabled in early 2016.