Health Insurance Missing for Majority of Indian Gig Workers

Int’l Insurance Desk: About three in five gig workers in India say they have no health insurance, leaving large numbers without financial protection even as they face frequent road accidents, extreme weather and work-related health problems. A report by Janpahal and the Gig Workers Association found that more than 62% of platform-based gig workers lack health cover while 44.2% have no accident insurance.

The study surveyed 1,000 platform workers across ten cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Agra, Lucknow, Jaipur and Patna. It showed that more than 57% put in at least 49 hours a week on platform work and 23.4% exceed 70 hours. Even those who do hold policies often struggle to access the benefits.

Safety risks are high. Some 27% of respondents had been involved in traffic accidents and 38% had suffered injuries linked to poor road conditions. Nearly two-thirds, or 62.2%, reported near-miss incidents with their vehicles. Two-wheelers are the main form of transport for 66.4% of the workers, which increases their exposure to road hazards. A further 34.1% said they had personally experienced harassment, abuse or violence while on the job.

Health problems are widespread. Fatigue and sleep disruption affected 64.5% of those surveyed, followed by musculoskeletal pain at 47.42%, stress and anxiety at 41.08%, eye strain at 30% and respiratory issues at 26.45%. Long hours are made harder by the near absence of basic facilities. Rest areas were completely unavailable according to 74.6% of workers, and 66.2% said they could rarely or never take breaks. More than half had to pay for drinking water themselves and 43.9% relied on paid public toilets. Extreme heat adds further strain, with workers reporting overheating, dehydration and skin irritation.

Despite these conditions 68.4% said they received no health-related support or guidance from their platforms. About 59% had never been given safety training and 56.8% lacked confidence that their platform offered effective channels for reporting safety concerns. The report concludes that responsibility for managing occupational risks is largely left to individual workers, with limited institutional backing from platforms or social security systems.

Women made up 10.5% of the sample and were more concentrated in household care and food delivery roles. The study calls for stronger occupational safety standards, legal recognition of gig workers, mandatory safety training, better grievance mechanisms and the provision of health insurance.