Sherpa insures all of its gig-economy drivers

Same-day delivery company Sherpa has taken the initiative to keep their drivers safe by implementing personal accident insurance for every one of their drivers aka “Sherpas”.

Gig economy workers are normally not covered by insurance when they work for these companies. These drivers are not permanent employees therefore insurance is more expensive for organisations such as Sherpa.

Duncan Brett, CEO at Sherpa said, “This is a statement about how seriously we care about the welfare of our Sherpas and the types of customers we work with. 

“While they are not employees, we are going above and beyond what is required because of our genuine concern and passion to protect our drivers with insurance policy cover for Income Protection as well as temporary/ permanent death and disability cover.

Brett said while this adds a notable cost to the business, he believes it is the “right thing to do” and hope other companies follow their lead.

“Sherpa is going against the common narrative that these gig economy companies don't care about their partner drivers. This initiative demonstrates that Sherpa does,” he said.

Brett said the company has a strategy of making Sherpa the platform of choice for gig economy workers, and this move is a big part of that.

“The feedback from our retail partners is that they are delighted about how seriously we take our Sherpas’ wellbeing and that we are removing risk for them,” he said.

“The insurance cover means that if something happens on the way to pick up an order from a retailer, or on their way to drop off an order to a customer, the driver is insured.

"This level of cover would normally cost Sherpas more than $1,000 if they were to take out the cover themselves. However, Sherpa is meeting 100 percent of this cost. We understand how important safety is to gig economy workers, and we have responded accordingly.”

Sherpa has 11,000 drivers in its fleet, and they are the most important part of the business, Brett said.

“Busy every day, delivering everything from groceries and cupcakes to legal documents and building materials. They need to be protected,” he added.

Covering 75 percent of the Australian population across 17 cities, Sherpa works for companies such as Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse, and Dan Murphy’s.