PHOENIX, AZ – May 18, 2020: Openforce, the leading provider of technology-driven solutions offering onboarding, settlement, compliance and risk mitigation for companies with independent contractor workforces, through its subsidiary insurance agency, ICM Insurance Services, LLC, has added a partnership with the Crum & Forster companies (Crum & Forster) to bring their longstanding occupational accident coverage to the Openforce platform.

Occupational accident insurance covers independent contractors for injuries sustained while providing services to a contracting company, but such coverage may be costly for independent contractors to acquire, and contracting companies may not have visibility into its status. A lack of appropriate coverage could increase the likelihood that an injured contractor will file a workers’ compensation claim, which has the potential to trigger a worker misclassification investigation into the contracting company.

Moreover, traditional occupational accident plans may include flat-rate-only premiums, exclusions for common pre-existing or occupational conditions, and age-related limitations. Flat-rate premiums, in particular, have the potential to lead to less transparency, as master contractors may be disincentivized to disclose all subcontractors to the contracting company, creating additional problems downstream if a subcontractor lacks proper qualifications or is injured while performing work.

To fill these gaps, Openforce and Crum & Forster have created a unique package that combines robust occupational accident, workers’ compensation, and contingent liability insurance with a complete contractor onboarding, settlement, and risk mitigation solution. For both contracting companies and independent contractors, these new plans provide a host of unprecedented benefits.

“The world of insurtech is constantly changing,” said Matthew Bagley, AVP, Crum & Forster A&H Division. “We are excited to partner with technology provider Openforce to address challenges and facilitate solutions across the insurance spectrum.”

In addition to addressing the aforementioned restrictions, the new Openforce platform program ensures a contractor’s coverage is always active and maintained by deducting the insurance premiums directly from their settlements and reducing the risk of a workers’ compensation claim. This also means contractors will avoid needlessly paying premiums during weeks they have not performed services, and because Openforce offers coverage in arrears, contractors will have full coverage even before their first pay settlement cycle.

With both flat rate and percent-of-settlement premium plans available and coverage options suited to logistics, healthcare, the gig economy and beyond, the addition of Crum & Forster plans to the Openforce platform fosters a new level of flexibility, transparency and peace of mind for both contracting companies and independent contractors.

“We’re incredibly excited about this partnership,” said Ryan Kelly, Openforce CEO. “Crum & Forster has been in business for almost 200 years, with thousands of employees worldwide, and it shows in the breadth and depth of their policies. They care about people, as we do, and our joining forces means that everyone has the simple, affordable coverage they need.”

Although Openforce maintains a platform to promote multiple insurance companies and their offerings, the partnership between Openforce and Crum & Forster marks a major step forward for industries that rely on independent contractors. Together, the two firms bring contractor qualifications, settlements, and insurance into a single, comprehensive platform. Not only does it help preserve the business-to-business nature of the independent contractor–contracting company relationship, it also means both parties can rest easy, knowing that required occupational accident coverages are in place.

About Openforce
Openforce® is the leader in technology-driven services that reduce operating costs and mitigate compliance risk for companies using independent contractors. Openforce frees contracting companies from the burden of onboarding, contracting, and settlement processing while helping contractors build their business. Our cloud-based applications help businesses achieve more sustainable, profitable growth by removing financial, operational and compliance barriers to getting business done. Openforce is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm Riverside Partners. Learn more at oforce.com.

About Crum & Forster Accident & Health
Crum & Forster® is a national commercial property and casualty group of insurance companies wholly owned by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. The Fairfax Group, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance globally and the associated investment management, with $15.4 Billion in gross premiums at year-end 2018. Crum & Forster has an A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best (2018). Since 2000, Crum & Forster’s Accident & Health division has been offering a unique variety of specialty insurance and reinsurance products nationwide through our admitted and surplus lines insurance companies, including Employer Stop Loss, Provider Excess, HMO Reinsurance, Medical Excess Reinsurance, Group Accident and AD&D, Fixed Indemnity, Blanket Student Accident, K-12/K-12 Cat, Travel, International Travel Medical, Occupational Accident, Short Term Medical, Bloodstock, and Pet Insurance. In addition to its robust domestic portfolio, Crum & Forster Accident and Health offers a wide variety of niche accident and health products on a global basis, providing partners with even broader flexibility in underwriting solutions. The qualities and capabilities of Crum & Forster Accident and Health demonstrate our philosophy of building meaningful, long-term partnerships and our dedication to providing alternative solutions in an ever-changing accident and health insurance market.

For further information regarding Crum & Forster Accident & Health, contact:
James Obregon, Vice President of Business Development
Email:  james.obregon@cfins.com
Phone:  904-654-3550

About Openforce

Openforce is the leader in technology-driven services that reduce operating costs and mitigate risk for companies using independent contractors. Our cloud-based applications help companies and contractors alike achieve more sustainable, profitable growth by removing financial, operational, and compliance barriers to getting business done.