E-commerce firms begin buying Covid insurance cover for delivery workforce

E-commerce firms Flipkart, Amazon, Zomato, Swiggy and BigBasket are among firms working to instil confidence in workers who are critical for their operations.

Online retailers and food-tech firms are buying medical insurance and income protection plans for their staff, delivery partners and supply chain associates in an attempt to assure their workforces amid the Covid-19 pandemic, executives at these companies said.

A delivery worker of Zomato, an Indian food-delivery startup, waits to collect an order from a restaurant, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), in New Delhi. (MAR)

E-commerce firms Flipkart, Amazon, Zomato, Swiggy and BigBasket are among firms working to instil confidence in workers who are critical for their operations.

“Companies, mostly in the e-commerce sector, who have frontline workers and delivery boys, are now buying insurance plans with sum assured of up to ₹5 lakh per person to cover against Covid-19 risks. The premium for such products is around ₹2,500. The premium for all-inclusive health insurance products that cover other health risks is ₹3,000-4,000, depending on the tenure, which varies from 3.5 months to 6.5 months or 9.5 months. The size of the employees’ medical insurance business (taken by companies) has been ₹7,000-8,000 crore, which is now poised to grow at 30-40%,” said Sanjay Datta, chief of claims, underwriting and reinsurance at ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd. Operations of e-commerce firms, especially those engaged in food and goods delivery, revolve around staff, who are vulnerable to infections.