Continuing its efforts to empower stakeholders against COVID-19, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, a leading emergent markets company, has insuredover 4000 extended workforcepart of the supply and distribution chain in India. The medical insurance coverspersonnelon channelpartners' payrolls or contracted by them to ensure smooth business operations for GCPL. For medical hospitalization or treatment of COVID-19, each employee is entitled to cashless treatment or reimbursement of medical expenses up to INR 50,000.
This is a pioneering industry-first initiative taken by a corporate to cover such a large number of personnel. The medical insurance under Digit Illness Group Insurance Policy is provided by Go Digit General Insurance, a new age general insurance company with a mission to make insurance simple. The 4000+personnelbasewho are covered under medical insurance are contract labours, delivery teams, carrying and forwarding agents, loaders and unloaders, and logistic teams including drivers. This is in addition to 2675 permanent employees of GCPL who already have medical benefits.
Commenting on this major step taken by the company, Sunil Kataria, CEO – India & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, said, "COVID-19 has posed great threat to public health in India. Be it permanent, contracted or third-party, GCPL has commitment towards all its extended workforce. We value their efforts, and their safety is of prime importance to us. Therefore, we have undertaken this initiative to insure the workforce of over 4000 personnel who are the backbone of our supply and distribution chain. We have established a comprehensive health and safety monitoring system in all our operating locations. Through a culture of proactive and preventive behaviour, we will continuously review our policy to keep them in line with current requirements and needs of our workforce."
Jasleen Kohli, Chief Distribution Officer, Digit Insurance, said, "Our mission at Digit is to simplify insurance & to create products that people really need. Given, the current global situation, offering a cover for COVID-19 was the need of the hour and we are glad that Godrej shares this vision with us for their employees. The product covers not just hospitalization expenses including ICU Rent & Room Rent but also Pre/Post Hospitalization & Ambulance Charges for a positively tested COVID-19 patient. The idea is to handle these unpredictable times in the best way possible, through simplified insurance as an instrument. Also, our entire claims process is ‘Zero-touch', which is required at this time, as we accept audio claims instead of claim forms, soft-copies instead of hard-copies for proofs and have a 24*7 customer care assistance, again completely online."
Godrej Consumer Products has always been committed to maintain both lives and livelihoods. As its manufacturing units are functioning, the company has ensured that employees are following hygiene and adequate social distancing practices. Factory personnel are given face masks along with provisions of sanitisers, staggered shifts, access control and thermal screening.
GCPL has set up a daily COVID-19 allowance for allits factory and contract employees. A one-month food package containing essential products like rice, flour, pulses, oil, salt, among other items, is also given to them. GCPL has ensured no deduction in wages of contract workers and is closely working with contractors to ensure this policy is followed as a protocol.
About Godrej Consumer Products Ltd:
Godrej Consumer Products is a leading emerging markets company. As part of the 122-year young Godrej Group, we are fortunate to have a proud legacy built on the strong values of trust, integrity and respect for others. At the same time, we are growing fast and have exciting, ambitious aspirations.
Today, our Group enjoys the patronage of 1.15 billion consumers globally, across different businesses. In line with our 3 by 3 approach to international expansion at Godrej Consumer Products, we are building a presence in 3 emerging markets (Asia, Africa, Latin America) across 3 categories (home care, personal wash, hair care). We rank among the largest household insecticide and hair care players in emerging markets. In household insecticides, we are the leader in India, the second largest player in Indonesia and are expanding our footprint in Africa. We are the leader in serving the hair care needs of women of African
descent, the number one player in hair colour in India and Sub-Saharan Africa, and among the leading players in Latin America. We rank number two in soaps in India and are the number one player in air fresheners and wet tissues in Indonesia.
But for us, it is very important that besides our strong financial performance and innovative, much-loved products, we remain a good company. Approximately 23 per cent of the promoter holding in our Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. We are also bringing together our passion and purpose to make a difference through our 'Good & Green' approach to create a more inclusive and greener India.
At the heart of all of this, is our talented team. We take much pride in fostering an inspiring workplace, with an agile and high performance culture. We are also deeply committed to recognising and valuing diversity across our teams.
About Digit
Digit is a new-age general insurance company started by Kamesh Goyal and backed by the Fairfax Group, one of the largest financial services groups in the world. The company has raised three rounds of funding amounting to $140 million from Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa's Fairfax Financial Holdings and $84 million from three growth equity investors - A91 Partners, Faering Capital and TVS Capital. This combined investment would bring Digit's total funding to $224 million, one of the largest funding rounds in the Indian General Insurance space.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, Digit has partnered with some of the leading companies like Cleartrip, Sterling Holidays, SOTC and Policy Bazaar. Digit Insurance has recently won, ‘General Insurance Company of the Year 2019' award at Asia Insurance Review Awards, Singapore. It has also featured in the Top 25 Indian Startups Lists by Linkedin in 2018 and 2019 and was in CB Insights' top 250 fastest-growing fintech companies globally list in 2018.
For more details contact: mediarelations@godigit.com