Looking to make extra cash for a house down payment last fall, Waita Sindi became an UberX driver, using his own car to pick up and deliver strangers to their destinations around Toronto.

For several months, things went well. In his spare time, Sindi used Uber’s app to pair him with passengers and watched a portion of the fare flow into his bank account.

Last month, Sindi was cruising along Islington Ave. with three passengers when another motorist making a left-hand turn crashed into his 2005 Toyota Prius. Nobody was hurt.

He notified Uber and “right away my app stopped working.” A week after the accident, Sindi says, the only thing he received from the company was an emailed form asking for details about the crash.

“You’re kind of left wondering: What am I supposed to do, who am I supposed to contact, there’s no phone numbers — standard stuff, as you would with an insurance claim,” he said in an interview.

When he finally reached Uber, a representative in Chicago told him he would have to pay a $1,000 deductible, though he was later told that was not the case.

As it turned out, because the other driver was at fault, Sindi says, his personal car insurance kicked in and paid to have his car fixed. But the experience was stressful and left him with a lot of “what ifs.”

Sindi did not have commercial insurance — a more comprehensive and costly form of coverage carried by licensed taxi drivers. That has left him wondering what would have happened if he had been at fault. The Insurance Bureau of Canada has warned people to be careful if they are using their vehicle as a cab but without commercial insurance.

Uber officials have said that every ride is backed by $5 million of contingent auto liability insurance covering bodily injury and property damage.

The city of Toronto is seeking a court injunction to block Uber’s operations here, arguing in part that Uber does not have adequate insurance coverage. Uber maintained its insurance’s unique nature can’t be disclosed publicly or it might be duplicated by competitors, but a Superior Court Justice ruled for the city last week.

Sindi believes there are other UberX drivers who don’t tell their insurance companies they are driving for Uber, “otherwise they would be required to get commercial insurance.”

In an email, Uber Canada spokeswoman Susie Heath said “we clearly communicate to our driver-partners that they should check with their insurers.

“This is also laid out in the terms of service that driver-partners sign when they join the platform.”

Looking back, Sindi believes Uber Canada could have provided him with paperwork spelling out details of their insurance coverage.

“They didn’t give me anything. I don’t know what Uber’s insurance is, I don’t know what their insurance company is, I didn’t even know who to call locally.”

Heath called it “unfortunate” to hear that “this driver-partner felt misinformed. We’re always trying to enhance our process of communicating with our driver-partners.”

While the city cited inadequate insurance as one of the reasons it is seeking an injunction to stop Uber from operating in Toronto, the company says its coverage is more than sufficient.

“Passengers, pedestrians, other drivers and the community at large can rest assured knowing that our UberX driver-partners are well covered by commercial auto insurance written by an insurance company rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best. This coverage is provided in addition to the driver’s own personal insurance policy,” says an emailed statement.

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The $5 million of coverage exceeds the standard requirements for taxi and limousine insurance across Canada. Toronto’s licensed taxi drivers are required to have commercial coverage and carry a minimum of $2 million in liability insurance.

“We are confident our insurance model will provide coverage as it does in every jurisdiction where we operate,” an Uber Canada spokesman wrote in email sent to the Star last month.

With files from Vanessa Lu

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