Amazon on Wednesday announced that it would provide a Covid-19 health insurance, free of cost for its sellers in India.
The insurance will help cover the expenses related to novel coronavirus hospitalisation and treatment as well as ambulance assistance and ICU charges of up to Rs 50,000, and it will be valid for one year after activation, the company said in a statement.
Amazon will fully fund the premium for this health insurance and has partnered with Acko General Insurance (Acko) to manage the policy delivery and handling of claims and reimbursements.
The scheme will benefit Amazon sellers, who have had an active product listing on Amazon, in between January 2019 and May 26, 2020.
Gopal Pillai, VP Seller Services, Amazon India said: "We are facing an unprecedented situation that has affected the lives of millions of people around the world. In these difficult times, the health and safety of our sellers is of utmost importance to us and we are completely committed to support them."
He said that good health is the foundation for its sellers to run their business and they are rolling out a group health insurance benefit to help them cover for medical expenses in case of hospitalisation and treatment due to Covid-19.
"While we sincerely hope none of our sellers need to use this, we want to make sure they have a sense of security and one less thing to worry about and can focus on developing their business," Pillai said.
Amazon will open a 7-day enrolment window wherein sellers can enrol themselves by providing basic personal particulars and KYC documents. No medical tests will be required for registration.
For each seller account, only one person will be covered under the insurance policy. Once the requisite details are processed, a Unique Health Identification (UHID) number will be issued to the sellers by Acko, which they can use to file their claims and reimbursements.
To claim COVID-19 related hospitalization and treatment expenses, registered sellers will have to intimate Acko. A standard waiting period of 15 days will be applicable at the start of the insurance policy.