Searching for gift ideas? The flavour of the market seems to be gifting personal accident covers, which come very cheap. Instead of a box of sweets, some employers are gifting personal accident covers worth Rs 25,000 for as little as Rs 38 per head!
Chemist shops such as Medicine Shoppe are giving out free personal accident covers as part of their promotional drive to boost sales across country-wide franchise outlets.
Customers having purchased items -- medicine or otherwise -- from Medicine Shoppe within three months stand to get a free personal accident cover worth Rs 50,000. The response has been lukewarm in metros and large towns, said Medicine Shoppe's managing director Viraj Gandhi. "This is because those with credit cards already have free personal accident cover," he stated. The response has been better in the smaller towns such as Pune, Nasik, Aurangabad, Latur and Solapur among a host of other centres, as a little bit of awareness about insurance is seeping in and most consumers do not have personal risk cover.
Medicine Shoppe has gone in for a kind of segregation too as a person residing in Mumbai would have to purchase items from its shops to the tune of Rs 2,400 over a three months period, while one living in Pune would need to buy goods worth Rs 1,200 to avail of this free personal accident risk cover. In smaller towns such as Sangli, the eligibility amount is as low as Rs 750.
"We have tried to make it easier for the residents of smaller town as per their purchasing power and affordability," said Gandhi. Medicine Shoppe which has tied up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, to offer free personal accident to its customers, has bought risk cover to the tune of Rs 10 crore.
"We have also bought household insurance cover worth Rs 2-4 crore for our customers who purchase thrice the amount identified in their respective cities. This will make them eligible for a free fire cover protecting their homes worth Rs 1 lakh," said Gandhi.
Medicine Shoppe expects demand to rise especially from smaller towns and cities enticed by a free cover. This is not a marketing gimmick, says Gandhi, adding: "Afterall, we are paying a premium to Bajaj Allianz". For a cover of Rs 50,000, the annual insurance premium stands at Rs 75.
