When gig work is dangerous work

The gig economy – that segment of the labor market characterized by self-employed workers who freelance or sign short-term contracts as opposed to taking permanent, full-time jobs – has been expanding dramatically in the past 20 years and shows no signs of slowing down. In 2023, the World Bank estimated that there could be as many as 435 million independent workers around the globe who use apps, digital platforms, or other online services to connect themselves to clients or deliver their work.  

Many of these workers are in fields that don’t necessarily pose any special threat to their physical health or well-being: Think graphic designers, housecleaners, freelance writers, pet sitters, or web developers. But for certain subsets of gig workers – especially those whose jobs require them to operate vehicles, such as delivery people and drivers for rideshare services – every new day brings with it the heightened risk of an accident or injury.

For these workers, the ability to purchase affordable personal accident insurance of the sort offered through Chubb – quickly and easily, with the literal click of a button on their phone – can spell the difference between a temporary setback and a disaster.  

In a 2022 University College London study, researchers surveyed two different sets of food delivery drivers and discovered notable differences between self-employed gig workers who delivered for multiple clients and those who were employed full-time by individual restaurants. Even though both sets of workers were traveling the same streets and performing the same kind of work in the same types of vehicles, the gig workers faced much higher risk.   

• They were nearly twice as likely to run through red lights (21% vs. 12%)
• They were nearly three times more likely to be distracted by their phones while driving (57% vs. 21%)
• They were more than three times as likely to report damage to their vehicle in a collision (25% vs. 7%), and nearly twice as likely to report an injury to themselves or to someone else as the result of a collision (11% vs. 6%)

Delivery driver accidents are a global problem. One 2025 study looking at accident rates for drivers in Brazil found that 44% of them had suffered an accident within a one-year period, with 82% of those accidents being reported as traffic accidents; more than half of these injured workers (56%) reported needing to take time off of work after an accident, and 22% reported that they had to miss 15 days of work or more. Researchers in Vietnam have come to a similar set of conclusions: More than half (54%) of delivery drivers there reported being involved in at least one accident over a 12-month period. In a recent survey of delivery drivers in Malaysia, 18% reported being involved in at least one traffic crash, 11% were involved in two traffic crashes, and 12% claimed that they had been involved in more than three traffic crashes. 

The rapid, dramatic, and global growth of the rideshare sector in recent years has created tens of millions of new professional drivers who now carry passengers or products on roads around the world. These drivers are typically competing for rides in dense urban areas, working long hours, and frequently checking their platforms or GPS mapping services while in motion. As a 2024 University of Illinois Chicago study concluded, this is basically a recipe for risk: One third of the drivers who took part in the study told researchers that they had been involved in a crash while working – with the likelihood of a crash rising markedly if they were using a cellphone, driving while exhausted, or traveling on unfamiliar roads. 

Chubb’s 2025 report on the state of global remittances showed how gig workers around the world experience heightened financial instability and limited social safety nets. In exchange for the flexibility and freedom they enjoy as private contractors, many of them, including delivery and rideshare drivers, frequently lack access to many of the institutional protections – such as worker’s compensation, employer-subsidized health benefits, and insurance – that they would enjoy as full-time, permanent employees. Without such protections, these workers are highly vulnerable to medical expenses and/or sustained loss of income due to accident or injury.

The digital platforms through which these workers find their gigs have an opportunity to mitigate risk and reduce vulnerability by instituting safety training and road awareness measures, as well as by promoting a culture where hazards and near-misses can be reported by drivers without fear of punishment or penalty. Another solution: affordable, accessible insurance products that can be embedded into these platforms, giving delivery and rideshare drivers added layers of protection. Through Chubb Studio, a technology platform that helps companies integrate our insurance products into their own digital offerings, delivery and rideshare companies can provide their independent contractor drivers an opportunity to purchase personal accident insurance that can help cover medical expenses and replace lost income during recovery periods.

Delivery and rideshare drivers are key – if frequently overlooked – players in the global digital economy. The services they provide have completely redefined modern notions of convenience and mobility for hundreds of millions of customers and are at the core of some of the world’s most successful business models. With their labor, however, comes unique risk. The good news is there are tailored insurance solutions available to these gig workers that can help mitigate some of this risk. Click here to learn more about how Chubb is helping.