Delivery network couriers and transportation network drivers, Department of Financial Institutions' approval to offer portable benefit accounts, providing for insurance coverage, and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

Portable benefit accounts Under the bill, if certain conditions are satisfied, a financial institution or other person may obtain approval from the Department of Financial Institutions to offer portable benefit accounts. A “portable benefit account” is an account administered by such an approved financial institution or other person (portable benefit account provider) from which an individual may receive distributions for the purposes described below. A network company may contribute to a portable benefit account of an application-based driver who meets certain eligibility requirements (eligible driver) a percentage of the driver's earnings, and the driver may also contribute to the portable benefit account. An eligible driver may receive a distribution from a portable benefit account for the following purposes: 1) to compensate for lost income due to an illness or accident or loss of work due to certain other events; 2) to transfer the money to an individual retirement account; or 3) to pay health insurance premiums. A portable benefit account provider may include an income replacement benefit to be made available to eligible drivers upon the occurrence of an event under 1) above.

Insurance coverage The bill provides that a network company may purchase blanket accident and sickness insurance for its application-based drivers. A network company that purchases such a policy must file a copy of it with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance within 30 days of the beginning of the policy year. Additionally, the network company must notify OCI at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the policy's cancellation or nonrenewal, and OCI is treated as a certificate holder for purposes of receiving the notice. The bill specifies that the state's worker's compensation laws do not apply to the blanket accident and sickness insurance policy.

The bill also provides that a network company may carry, provide, or otherwise make available occupational accident insurance to cover the medical expenses and lost income resulting from an injury suffered by an application-based driver while engaged on the company's online-enabled application, software, or system. The bill requires that the policy provide, in aggregate, at least $1,000,000 of coverage and, at a minimum, all of the following:

1. Coverage for medical expenses incurred of at least $250,000 and for up to 104 weeks following the injury.

2. Continuous total disability payments and temporary total disability payments for up to 104 weeks following the injury that equal one-sixth of the application-based driver's total earnings from all network companies during the 28 days prior to the accident, subject to limitations in worker's compensation law.

3.

For the benefit of a spouse, child, or other dependent of an application-based driver who suffers an injury that results in death, an accidental death benefit equal to the death benefit provided under worker's compensation law.

The bill provides that if an accident is covered by occupational accident insurance maintained by more than one network company, the insurer of the company against whom a claim is filed is entitled to a contribution for the pro rata share of coverage attributable to one or more other network companies, up to the above coverages and limits.

Under the bill, any benefit provided to an application-based driver under an occupational accident insurance policy is treated as amounts payable under a worker's compensation law or disability benefit for the purpose of determining amounts payable under uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.