Occupational Accident Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is Occupational Accident Insurance important to being a HelloTech Technician?
This layer of protection represents our commitment to your safety and wellbeing as you perform services on the HelloTech platform. To give you a better understanding of what this means to you as an independent contractor, we’ve created this brief FAQ.
What is Occupational Accident Insurance?
If you have or have had workers’ compensation previously, then you are already familiar with the type of coverage that Occupational Accident Insurance provides. Specifically, Occupational Accident Insurance provides coverage for things such as lost wages, medical expenses, and death and disability benefits to independent contractors who may sustain work-related or on-the-job injuries. Whereas workers’ compensation is provided by employers, Occupational Accident Insurance is maintained by independent contractors.
What is NOT occupational accident insurance?
Occupational Accident Insurance is not health insurance, life insurance, burial insurance or auto insurance.
Who will provide the insurance?
Coverage is provided by Midlands, a third-party insurance provider. HelloTech will perform the administrative functions of calculating, submitting and reporting on Occupational Accident Insurance fees so you don’t have to.
Will this cost me anything?
The cost to you will be minimal. The rate for Midlands coverage is 1.59% of your payouts, which is deducted from your twice-a-week settlements. In addition, HelloTech collects a separate flat $1.15 processing fee for each payout where Midlands coverage is assessed. While the total cost of the Midlands insurance policy will vary based on your total earnings (e.g. if you complete 5 jobs in January and earn a total of $425, the Midlands policy will cost $6.76 during that period, but if you complete 3 jobs in February and earn $222, the Midlands policy will cost $3.53 during that period), the total HelloTech processing fees you will pay will never be more than $10 in a month.
Do I still have to pay if I have no HelloTech earnings?
If you have not worked on any jobs during a payout period, you will not incur any processing fees or deductions. You will only pay the 1.59% deduction and $1.15 processing fee when you earn with HelloTech.
What do I need to do to enroll, and can I opt out?
If you already have Occupational Accident Insurance or Workers’ Compensation, you’re all set! You will be asked to provide proof that your coverage is both current and meets the legal minimum of coverage amount required by the state in which you reside. If you do not have coverage, no need to worry. Enrollment with Midlands is very simple.
If you choose to proceed with Midlands coverage instead of your own, you’ll simply fill out an enrollment form and we’ll take care of the rest.