Drivers in the transportation industry suffer from some of the worst health issues among any job classification. Long, sedentary periods of driving, fast food, full weeks away from home and mental health challenges are all barriers to wellness.
The statistics support the negative effects that a job driving has on worker health. Truck drivers are 30% more likely than the overall population to be obese.1 In addition, 51% of truck drivers smoke cigarettes, 66% of long-haul drivers do not engage in physical activity and 80% report having at least one serious health condition.2
This challenge, coupled with the driver shortage, has led companies to expand their benefits for employees and find new ways to help connect independent equipment owner-operators and contract motor carriers with benefits, from health insurance and mental health care to childcare, gym discounts and nutritionists.
An innovative approach to IC health and wellness
Although companies cannot legally offer traditional employee benefits to independent contractors without changing their employment classification, new technology platforms in the marketplace enable carriers to help these ICs connect with health and wellness programs.
These association and insurance broker benefits programs can help companies link ICs via an online portal to a quality benefits experience while allowing these workers to retain their independent classification and remain compliant with the IRS.
Introducing ICs to benefits programs can also double as a recruitment and retention tool, particularly when a program includes benefits options that apply to all independent business models and income levels.
Health benefits for independent contractors via online portals
Although many ICs may obtain healthcare through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), understanding the benefits available can be confusing, and drivers who own their own equipment are unlikely to have an income less than the ACA’s subsidization level.
But directing independent equipment owner-operators and contract motor carriers to an online portal, such as HUB Drive Online, can help them obtain voluntary group-rated healthcare coverage — including major medical, dental and vision — as well as many of the benefits typically only available to full-time employees, such as health savings accounts, life insurance, retirement saving plans and wellness programs.
Helping connect drivers to meaningful benefits not only improves their health, wellness and financial security, it also improves recruitment and retention, and shows independent drivers that the companies they contract with care about their wellbeing.
However, all benefits plans are not created equal. To be successful and affordable, a larger program — where driver participants and their families are spread out in a wide variety of geographies, ages and other factors — helps to spread the risk, enabling the insurance program to be priced more competitively. A larger pool of insureds can also attract more insurance companies willing to underwrite additional benefits for the program.
Contact a HUB transportation specialist to learn more about engaging with independent contractors. To explore how HUB’s contractor benefit solutions can help, request access to HUB Drive Online.
1 National Library of Medicine, “Describing Physical Activity Patterns of Truck Drivers Using Actigraphy,” August 19, 2023.
2 Healthy Trucking of America, “The Most Surprising Truck Driver Health Statistics and Trends in 2023,” accessed June 3, 2024.