*By Madison Alworth*
Verifly, a start-up that provides insurance for flying drones, said it will now also cover people. It will begin offering on-demand, short-term general liability insurance for contract workers and freelancers.
The company's app, originally designed for the gig economy of DJs, photographers, handymen, and dog walkers, gave Verifly a leg up when it looked to expand into other types of insurance, said co-founder and CEO Jay Bregman.
"This platform that we built was really a per-flight, drone insurance, and it was how we cut our teeth in building this episodic insurance," he said Wednesday in an interview with Cheddar. The contractors who were using their drone insurance were the ones who asked for coverage for their other freelance jobs. "They came to us and said, 'it's great that we have this system for the 5 percent of our work that deals with drones, but we'd like to do this for the 95 percent of our work that's photography, or construction, etc.' So we just listened."
There are 57 million Americans who work as independent contractors, often on short term jobs. In the least 20 years, the number of gig economy workers has increased by about [20 percent more](https://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/13/gig-economy-is-growing-heres-how-much.html) than payroll employees.
"Insurance is only sold by the year. So we stepped in to solve that problem," said Bregman.
Verifly users can purchase insurance for a specific gig and by the hour. The rates start as low as $5 an hour, and they're based on a variety of factors including the type of work, the length of the project, and where the job is located. Verifly insurance is available in 11 states, and the company has plans to be available nationwide by the end of this year or early next year. Its general liability policies are underwritten by Markel Insurance Company and the drone policies are underwritten by Global Aerospace, Inc.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/getting-insurance-for-your-gig).
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
