Coronavirus Outbreak: FMCG companies launch special insurance schemes for 'frontline' workers

New Delhi: Leading FMCG companies such as Nestle India, Godrej Consumers Products Ltd and Dabur are providing special insurance covers to their ‘frontline’ workforce, including those of distributors, who are engaged in supply and distribution of their products during the coronavorus pandemic. FMCG makers, which have witnessed a huge disruption in their supply chain during the lockdown, are empowering their frontline workforce in their ecosystem with medical insurance scheme covering risk against any possible fallout from COVID-19, which includes cashless treatment to reimbursement of medical expenses, in case of any eventualities during their work. The companies have tailored special schemes in collaboration with many insurance firms to keep people involved in its supply chain motivated so as to ensure supply and availability of their products in the market during the health crisis. [caption id=“attachment_4179443” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Godrej Consumers Products Ltd (GCPL) on Monday said it has insured over 4,000 extended workforce part of the supply and distribution chain in India. “The medical insurance covers personnel on channel partners’’ payrolls or contracted by them to ensure smooth business operations for GCPL. For medical hospitalisation or treatment of COVID-19, each employee is entitled to cashless treatment or reimbursement of medical expenses up to Rs 50,000,” GCPL CEO - India & SAARC Sunil Kataria said. The persons covered under the medical insurance are contract labourers, delivery teams, carrying and forwarding agents, loaders and unloaders and logistic teams including drivers.  “COVID-19 has posed a great threat to public health in India. Be it permanent, contracted or third-party, GCPL has commitment towards all its extended workforce,” he added. The Godrej Group firm has established a “comprehensive health and safety monitoring system” in all its operating locations and said it “will continuously review our policy to keep them in line with current requirements and needs of our workforce”. Similarly, homegrown wellness and FMCG firm Dabur India has also introduced a special insurance scheme ‘‘Dabur Aashray’’ for its frontline staff and its distributors. “With the entire country under lockdown, the frontline staff at Dabur and our distributor partners have been working towards ensuring regular supply of medicines, essential products, food and hygiene products to citizens," Dabur India CEO Mohit Malhotra said. He further said, “We have rolled out a special insurance scheme ‘Dabur Aashray’ for over 600 individuals who are currently not covered under the corporate and state insurance scheme to support them and take care of their medical needs in case of any emergency arising out of COVID-19.” Similarly, Nestle India has also introduced a special scheme called “Nestle Suraksha” covering all the frontline sales force, which work with their distributors for next three months. “Our frontline sales force who work for our distribution partners are the heroes who ensure Nestlé India’s standing in the marketplace and we will looking at rolling-out a ‘Nestle Suraksha’ programme to cover each one of them, who is not covered by Employees’ State Insurance, with a COVID-19 insurance protection for a period of three months,” said a Nestle India spokesperson. He further said: “We want them to be safe and protect them should any unfortunate COVID-19 related event be fall them.” India is presently going through an extended lockdown period till May 3 as the government tries to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic which has so far taken 872 lives in the country. The number of infection cases has climbed to 27,892, according to the latest data by the Union Health ministry.