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Press Release

Growth in global sharing economy and mobility sector will stall if insurance does not evolve: Marsh report

October 13, 2021

Opportunity exists for new forms of insurance to support gig-workers 

Singapore, October 13, 2021 – In order to support the accelerating changes in the global sharing economy and mobility sector, new forms of insurance, including programs to support gig-workers at scale, will need to be created, according to a new report published today by Marsh, the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor. The report, Mobility in a post-pandemic world: From evolution to revolution, analyzes the global trends shaping the way societies around the world will move, share — and trust — over the next 12-18 months.

According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping mobility patterns and the sharing economy around the world. From the surge in last-mile delivery to car sharing, mobility and sharing economy trends in Asia will continue to evolve due to consumer habits in the aftermath of Covid-19. But if insurance, which plays a key role in the trust dynamic, doesn’t evolve alongside these changes, progress could be hindered.

The report outlines several trends creating opportunities for this insurance evolution, including supporting gig-workers at scale. While the concepts of self-employment and independent contractors are not new, digital companies providing wheel-based services have accelerated access to this type of work and highlighted the deficiencies in a social safety net to support them should they be injured on the job and lose income. In the same way that digitized payments can lead to digitized risk, so too can digitized income lead to a form of distributed portable benefits supported through a combination of public programs and private industry, Marsh notes.

Opportunity also exists with the rise of super apps in Asia. The Asia landscape has provided huge opportunities for super apps to capture significant market share and go across verticals to secure deep customer pools. Some 40% of the world’s Unicorns’ value is generated in Asia, where more people have smartphones than bank accounts. In Southeast Asia alone, there are 98 million underbanked and 200 million unbanked people, which has led to the rapid rise of e-wallets, P2P lenders, and the need to democratize access to banking and insurance products” the report states.

The increased use of digital payments for various modes of transport, from public transportation to car share rides, will also lead to the creation of innovative insurance solutions, according to the report. The use of data from individual digital journeys can not only drastically improve the claims management process, but also create an opportunity for real-time individualized on-demand insurance.

“It is remarkable how the pandemic has accelerated the exponential growth of certain services within the sharing economy sector in Asia,” said Laura Biddell, Regional Sharing Economy and Sales Leader, Affinity Asia. “Insurance has a unique role to play in providing protection to various stakeholders in this eco-system, including the customers, the gig workers and platforms themselves. Successful companies should leverage insurance as an opportunity to build trust with its partners and customers in order to gain further competitive advantage.”

About Marsh

Marsh is the world’s leading insurance broker and risk advisor. With around 40,000 colleagues operating in more than 130 countries, Marsh serves commercial and individual clients with data-driven risk solutions and advisory services. Marsh is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue over $18 billion, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses: MarshGuy CarpenterMercer and Oliver Wyman. For more information, visit mmc.com, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe to BRINK.

Media contact

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Phyllis Cheng

Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marsh Asia

  • Singapore