A pay-as-you-go insurer has entered the Irish market from today, targeting self-employed workers for its commercial insurance.
Zego will offer pay-as-you-go insurance for both scooters and cars used for food delivery and courier services. In the UK the company is integrated with a work platform such as Uber, which means it can automatically start and stop insurance based on when a worker is signed in and working.
Last November, Zego raised £6 million (€6.77 million) in a funding round led by Balderton Capital. It works with 16 gig economy platforms, including Deliveroo and UberEats. The company has more than 25,000 customers.
With its Irish product, Zego will provide cover for workers with Deliveroo and courier service WeBringg, with whom cover will be available from 70 cent an hour.
Zego, underwritten by La Parisienne Assurances, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, suggests its insurance product will allow more workers to take advantage of the gig economy as it provides access to affordable insurance.
La Parisienne is providing balance sheet capital for the insurer while Zego effectively acts as broker, managing the process.
Flexible option
Co-founder Harry Franks said "Ireland lacked flexible commercial insurance options for drivers, leaving drivers at risk from being underinsured".
He noted that “someone working two hours a day should not be paying for an insurance product that covers them for 14 hours a day. It’s simply not cost-effective”.
Asked whether there was a sweet spot from a cost-efficiency perspective, Mr Franks said someone using the platform less than 30 hours a week would be financially better off using Zego.
Users can access Zego’s products through the company’s mobile app or through Deliveroo’s platform for drivers.
Deliveroo's UK and Ireland managing director, Dan Warne, said Zego's platform has proven "hugely popular" with the company's UK riders, "and perfectly complements our global insurance package that protects riders themselves".
While Deliveroo will be one of the early users of the platform in Ireland, Mr Franks said the company is also targeting taxi drivers and those “lifestyle” users looking to earn extra money in addition to other jobs.
