Square’s Caviar gives accident insurance to its couriers

Couriers with Square’s Caviar app are now insured while out on deliveries.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

• Square just added a new benefit to entice food delivery couriers to make their money from its Caviar app over competitors like GrubHub and Postmates.
• All couriers on Caviar now have occupational accident insurance while out on deliveries for the service — up to $1 million in accident coverage if something goes terribly wrong. 
• Couriers are typically gig economy workers who log on and off of the app on their own schedules. It’s a flexible job, but doesn’t come with many employee benefits.

Couriers delivering food through Square’s Caviar app will now have insurance in case things go terribly wrong.

On Thursday, Caviar announced that it will cover all of its couriers with occupational accident insurance, which can provide for them in the event of a slip, trip, or other calamities while you’re on the job. 

It’s provided to them for free, and automatically kicks in while they’re on the doing deliveries. The benefit covers all couriers during Caviar deliveries, regardless of how long they have been using the app or whether they work with other delivery services — a common caveat to worker perks in the gig economy. 

“We’ve wanted to offer a policy like this for a while,” the company said in a press release. “We saw the opportunity to go above and beyond industry norms to offer economic opportunity and benefits to our courier community.”

That insurance policy, provided through OneBeacon, covers up to $1 million per accident, $100,000 in accidental death benefits, as well as disability coverage. 

It’s a unique benefit in an industry where workers are typically seen as sacrificing stability and benefits for the flexibility that temporary work facilitates. Square claims to be the first to offer this benefit in the food delivery space, which includes competitors like GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats and Postmates.