Creating a world's first: Insurtech Alicia and Temper solve a growing social problem, by creating the world's first collective insurance for platform workers.
Read moreHow an unlikely partnership resulted in the world's first collective insurance for platform workers.
The nature of work is changing. It is more fluid than ever before; agile, technology-enabled, and inclusive. Driven by a growing pool of flexible extra-earners drawn to the freedom, security, and opportunity of today’s growing shift economy. Shaping this new market requires a fresh mindset, innovative thinking, and the creation of unlikely new partnerships to make the most of the opportunities and challenges ahead.
A case in point: Who ensures that flexible extra-earners, considered independent contractors by traditional standards, are afforded the same social protections as conventional workers? What if, instead of looking to regulators or a specific industry for change, we initiated it ourselves? After all, wouldn’t prioritising social security as a means to help transform and strengthen platform workers benefit the economic and social well-being of everyone?
Big ideas and innovative breakthroughs can never be realised individually. That's why digital insurer, Alicia and Temper joined to create a bespoke insurance solution to provide flexible extra-earners with affordable and relevant health and safety insurance every time they work a shift via the platform.
The world's first pay-per-use collective insurance including sick pay provides automatic coverage for all flexible extra-earners who work on the side via Temper's digital noticeboard—a never-before solution for providing platform workers with the crucial coverage and the protection they deserve.
Flexible extra-earners working through the platform are now automatically insured for professional liability, accidents, temporary disability, and parental and bereavement leave at no extra cost to the worker. As a bonus for extra-earners who are members of the FreeFlex Foundation, they receive an extra benefit of 90% of the average shift income in the first year instead of the usual 70%. The insurance is paid for by a small increase in the clients' contribution and therefore costs the extra-earner nothing extra.
"Providing social insurance is one way we can build a more robust and future-proof labour market for everyone," says Niels Arntz, founder of Temper. "It creates a more substantial healthier labour market, which benefits us all."
"One of the great challenges of the modern labour market is that the share of self-employed people is rising while the insurance rate is falling. We believe that’s not necessary," says Marijn Moerman, Alicia CEO. "Alicia designs and develops tailor-made insurances for the self-employed, and with this world's first collective insurance solution including sick pay we think we have found a solution that helps close the insurance gap and that can be used widely to really make a difference."
For more information, see the Alicia Benefits website.