Swiggy, a food and grocery delivery company, has facilitated the disbursement of INR 31 Crore in claim amounts to its delivery partners during FY23.
With approximately 300,000 delivery partners spread across 500 Indian cities, Swiggy has been offering insurance coverage to its partners since 2015, as stated by the SoftBank-backed company.
In collaboration with Reliance General Insurance, Swiggy now offers health insurance, personal accident coverage, accidental death coverage, and mobile phone damage coverage to its delivery workers. The mobile insurance coverage can go up to INR 5,000, and the delivery personnel can avail themselves of hospitalization and outpatient department (OPD) coverage. In case of fatalities, Swiggy delivery workers receive INR 10,00,000, and 96% of claims are settled within seven days.
Read More: Reliance General Insurance collaborates with Swiggy to provide protection plans to delivery partners
Female delivery partners and the spouses of male delivery partners are also eligible for maternity coverage under Swiggy’s policies. Furthermore, in an effort to create a safer work environment for female partners, the company launched a “Prevention of Sexual Harassment” policy in 2022 to handle any related grievances.
As tech companies face mounting pressure to compensate gig workers fairly, this announcement comes at a time when they are also striving to generate profits.
Zomato, which competes with Swiggy, has also introduced a range of benefits for its gig workers. The company, based in Gurugram, declared on September 27, 2022, that it is piloting a health cover program worth INR 3 lakh, which can be extended to the families of delivery workers who have been loyal to the company for 2-3 years. Additionally, Zomato provides its delivery partners with a life cover scheme and a sum of money to cover funeral expenses in the event of their death.
Recently, there have been protests by workers regarding payouts at Swiggy, Zomato’s quick commerce service, and Urban Company, a home services provider backed by Accel Partner.
According to a recent survey on the condition of gig workers, including those employed by Swiggy and Zomato, delivery workers were found to be earning less each year and struggling to save money. The survey also revealed that approximately 47% of respondents lacked any form of insurance.
Mihir Shah, Head Of Operations at Swiggy, said, “Delivery partners are the backbone of our service. There is a common misconception that since they are not employees, they do not have access to healthcare support from Swiggy. For several years now, we have provided carefully considered insurance and other benefits to our delivery partners and their families. Swiggy remains committed to providing industry-best safety and well-being practices to our delivery partners.”
