If 50% of the workforce is going independent — why are we still insuring like it’s 1995? In this episode of Scouting for Growth, Sabine VanderLinden speaks with Mike Minett, Founder of Portabl, about building protection infrastructure for the future of work. The old model was simple: your employer handled your insurance and benefits. That world is fading. Freelancers, contractors, digital nomads, and gig workers now represent a rapidly growing share of the global workforce. Yet when someone becomes independent, their underwriting score often drops. Their credit score may drop. Not because they are riskier — but because models were built for employment stability in a previous era. Mike calls this structural bias out directly. Portabl’s mission is to create a portable structure that wraps around the individual — across clients, contracts, and geographies. Insurance, health benefits, savings tools — bundled into a membership that moves with the worker. At the core sits the FRISC Score (Freelancer Risk Score), designed to challenge traditional underwriting frameworks by using data and analytics to tell a fuller story about independent professionals. The stakes are high. For gig workers, health directly impacts earning capacity. Lose your health, lose your income. Lose your income, health deteriorates. Breaking that cycle requires proactive wellbeing support — virtual GP access, mental health services, physio — integrated into protection models. Building this wasn’t linear. Portabl initially expanded too quickly into the US. COVID disrupted early funding rounds. But paradoxically, the pandemic accelerated the shift toward independent work — strengthening the long-term thesis. Mike also highlights a practical blind spot: for many independent workers, their laptop and phone are their business. Lose either, and operations halt. Yet many freelancers don’t insure their most critical productive assets. Portabl’s approach blends insurance, data science, and community to remove friction, reduce stress, and give independents fairer access to protection and credit. This episode is essential listening for: Insurers exploring gig economy strategies Investors evaluating future-of-work platforms Policymakers addressing workforce protection gaps Founders building membership-based financial ecosystems Because the independent workforce is not a niche. It is becoming the norm. And the institutions that redesign risk models around individuals — not employers — will shape the next era of insurance. The question isn’t whether the future of work is portable. It’s whether protection will be too.