For pet owners in Chennai based SaaS firm chargebeeThe company has started telehealth services domestic animal Helping employees get quick veterinary advice in times of crisis.
And, the Chargebee isn’t the only one.
New Age Companies Are Making Extra Efforts pet friendly workplace Talking about pet benefits. Pet insurance, telehealth services, pet adoption cards and wellness leaves are some of the initiatives companies like Chargebee, MeeshoPowerplay, Gain, and Deloitte issued to its employees.
The idea is not only to have pet owners be more sympathetic to their employees, but also to provide them with distinct advantages in the highly competitive talent market. Insurance companies like PolicyBazaar, plumAnd Toffee Insurance is seeing high demand for pet insurance.
Bengaluru-based Powerplay is offering pet parents insurance coverage of Rs. 1.5 lakh, including hospitalization cover, surgery expenses, accidental fractures, OPD expenses, terminal illness and long term care.
Find stories that interest you
“For pet owners, there is no difference between their kids and pets. So, we wanted to give them the same insurance benefits that other members of our family would,” Ish Dixit, cofounder of the construction management software company, told ET. “Medical treatment for animals can be expensive and we wanted our employees to have coverage in cases like these.”
Such policies are becoming increasingly popular among employees as well.
Dixit said around 30 people have already opted for this service, which is usually offered as an add-on with group health insurance.
Insurtech firm Toffee Insurance, which co-manufactures products with insurance companies, is also seeing a boom in pet insurance.
“A few months back, we had our first partnership with a company that specifically wanted pet insurance. Many corporates are showing interest in it,” Nishant Jain, cofounder of Toffee Insurance, told ET. We have sold around 100 policies so far and are in the process of issuing 200 policies this month.
Insurance policy is not where the Rs.
Insurance-tech company Plum has launched telehealth consultations for pets. Jayant Ganapathy, director of healthcare at Plum, said partnerships with Plum for insurance services in hospitality, e-commerce and SaaS, and 10% of them, have actively opted for pet telehealth services. The company is getting 20 new inquiries daily.
“We are seeing a lot of demand for this. Pet owners become concerned when their pets become ill, because they are unable to express themselves. When a vet visit is not immediately possible , then there is a teleconsultation service with a licensed vet, which often gives them a quick solution,” Ganpati said.
Plum is in the process of partnering with service providers for corporates to provide post-consultancy services through nutrition counseling for employees’ pets, and home delivery of medicines.
The company’s business head for corporate insurance, Raghuveer Malik, said PolicyBazaar is seeing interest for pet insurance from consumer internet companies, IT and banking firms.
“From zero such instances a few years back, we introduced some eight customers last year. A food tech company and an edtech giant are among our clients and we are seeing more demand.
Other companies are allowing employees to take leave for their pets.
Earlier this year, Bengaluru-headquartered Meesho rolled out a pet-adoption policy, giving new pet parents a week off with their pets to help them settle down. Wellness platform Nova Benefits has also launched a pet-care policy under this. Employees who can take unlimited leave if their pet is unwell or has surgery.