By Alex Findlay, Digital Marketing Analyst

The shared economy is an economic model that involves sharing access to goods and services via an online platform, most commonly a mobile app. Examples include ride-sharing, electric scooters, and short-term housing/apartment rentals. 
Consumers have increasingly shifted toward using these shared economy platforms in recent years. The shared economy sector offers tremendous conveniences, but it is accompanied by substantial exposures. RT Specialty’s (RT) Shared Economy Practice Group addresses the liabilities of the growing sector by developing proprietary insurance programs and products.

RT is involved in all of the major shared economy segments, including:

• Alternative Transportation/Mobility
• Micromobility
• B2P/B2B Vehicle Leasing
• Alternative Work/Service
• Space/Accommodation Sharing
• Item Sharing/Leasing

The shared economy sector has many unique exposures. According to Jason Mendrey, RT Shared Economy Practice Leader, some of these exposures include:

• Independent contractor exposure, specifically covering a company whose workforce is temporary
• Exponential exposure growth
• Unusual coverage needs based on federal, state and local government regulation
• The breadth of services a single company can offer

To handle the unique exposures present in shared economy, RT brokers work with carriers, their clients, and insureds to develop proprietary insurance programs and products. “We work with leading carriers in the shared economy space,” says Jason. “It is an ever-changing landscape that we and the carriers with whom we work have to adapt to. With every new risk, we work with our clients and carriers to develop quality insurance products for a novel sector.”

Each shared economy segment has varying types of liability exposure, but all segments have substantial exposure. Jason believes that the younger services like micromobility scooters/bikes have the most liability. “Due to the fact there is not a lot of data on the exposure as they really have been up and running for only a few years, it is difficult to predict how claims will develop or where the liability will fall,” emphasizes Jason. “Whereas with ride-sharing, we have tons of data and experience. It is important to adapt with the marketplace.” According to Jason, “Alternative work/service and micromobility are the two largest growth sectors in shared economy.”

Jason says that the evolution of the shared economy space will be driven by federal, state, and local government regulation of shared economy sectors. “Growth will likely continue to be exponential, but there will most likely be consolidation and heavy M&A activity in the near future,” predicts Jason. As technology changes and advances, so will the shared economy space.

Learn more about RT Specialty at rtpsecialty.com

RT Shared Economy Experts

Jason Mendrey – Jason.Mendrey@rtspecialty.com

Rajan Shan – Rajan.Shah@rtspecialty.com

Lynn Koop – lkoop@rtspecialty.com

R-T Specialty, LLC (RT), a subsidiary of Ryan Specialty Group, LLC, provides wholesale brokerage and other services to agents and brokers.  RT is a Delaware limited liability company based in Illinois.  As a wholesale broker, RT does not solicit insurance from the public. Some products may only be available in certain states, and some products may only be available from surplus lines insurers. In California: R-T Specialty Insurance Services, LLC License #0G97516. © 2019 Ryan Specialty Group, LLC