If done right, gig economy workers have the potential to be a strong new segment for today's very saturated group benefits market. (Photo: Shutterstock)

For a long time, the first thought most had when the word “gig” came up was musicians, as in “the band got a gig.” In recent years, the word “gig” has taken on a broader meaning, encompassing a range of full- and part-time jobs done by the growing cohort of contingent or “alternative” workers.

Gigging is not, by any means, a small market: In October 2018, Staffing Industry Analysts estimated the global gig economy in 2017 was $3.7 trillion and rising. Gig Economy Data Hub, a joint project of Cornell University's Institute of Labor Relations and the Aspen Institute, places the gigging percent of the U.S. workforce by 2020 at 30 percent. And Randstad, in its 2017 Workforce 2025 report, stated that Canada's gig economy is an estimated 30 percent of all Canadian workers—a number that includes independent contractors, consultants, part-timers, and freelance workers—and is expected to grow to 35 percent by 2025.

Related: The external workforce: It's more than a gig