Managing General Agent (MGA) InShare recently announced the launch of an occupational accident insurance offering for independent workers across a number of segments, including trucking, rideshare and gig delivery. Co-developed with Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc.™ (“Skyward Specialty”), a leader in the specialty property and casualty (P&C) market, the offering ensures that independent contractor drivers who suffer injuries on the job will have work injury benefits made available through their companies with whom they contract.
“InShare is pioneering insurance products that are specifically designed for the gig economy. We believe independent contractors should have access to the same kind of protections that full-time workers enjoy, but until now, there weren’t many options,” said Mark Warnquist, CEO and co-founder of InShare. “A 2019 Gallup Poll showed that 36% of U.S. workers were engaged in some form of independent work. That’s 57.5 million people.”
The gig economy has continued to expand rapidly as a result of The Great Resignation and apps-based businesses such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and many others. In the trucking industry, a significant percentage of drivers are independent workers. A 2020 Upwork study also found that independent contractors represent 36% of the U.S. workforce and they contribute more than $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy. Yet, many lack protection from work-related injuries.
As a Geneva Association report notes, “Existing legal safeguards and social protection provisions were designed around traditional forms of employment and often no longer apply to workers with ‘non-standard’ contracts.”
InShare’s Occupational Accident Insurance
InShare partnered with Skyward Specialty to create its new offering. Most of InShare’s leadership team members are platform-company insiders, like co-founders Mark Warnquist and Sean Fitzsimmons who previously worked for companies like Uber and Lyft.
The new offering is being spearheaded by InShare Vice President Gary Lovelace who has spent 20 years specializing in occupational accident insurance for the trucking and logistics industry.
“We have an expert team of gig insiders across all facets of insurance that are working closely with brokers who specialize in the on-demand economy,” said Lovelace. “We’re making the buying experience straightforward, flexible and frictionless for brokers and customers. More fundamentally, we’re bringing occupational accident insurance into the digital age.”
Transportation and logistics companies will be able to purchase the insurance for the benefit of independent contractor drivers. Lovelace said this usage based insurance model is attractive to independent workers because it does not require them to pay annual premiums or an upfront deposit. Meanwhile, the insurance also helps to protect the gig platform business model.
GIG MARKET
“We are pleased to partner with InShare and our distribution partners to bring this offering to market because it addresses a well-known protection gap in a rapidly expanding market,” said Kirby Hill, president of Skyward Specialty.
InShare is planning an entire series of insurance products that will be launched in the upcoming months. Occupational accident insurance for rideshare and gig delivery drivers will be available in June. Coming soon thereafter will be a state of the art occupational accident insurance offering for logistics and trucking companies. Longer-term, InShare will provide customized solutions for an even broader array of segments in the gig economy.
“Ultimately, Inshare provides offerings for platform and transportation companies to protect their workers and win the battle for drivers,” said Lovelace.
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