Managing General Agent (MGA) InShare and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Inc. ™ (“Skyward Specialty”) 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, 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 the 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 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. In addition, Skyward Specialty has deep underwriting and claims expertise with a focus on technology and maintains strategic partnerships in niche markets to address growing risks in underserved markets.
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.
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