Early in May this year, 42-year-old Ajay (name changed), a delivery agent with online food delivery aggregator Swiggy in Thiruvananthapuram, was returning after a delivery when he met with an accident. He sustained serious injuries including a broken rib. After a one month stay in hospital and two months of rest at home, he rejoined work recently to take care of daily expenses. But the company has rejected his insurance claim.
“I have sent my medical records from the Government Medical College Thiruvananthapuram as well as other relevant documents for the insurance claim. But the claim was rejected by the insurance company with which Swiggy has an arrangement. My team leader told me that I should have contacted the company’s officials online as soon as the accident happened. How is anyone supposed to do that,” asks Ajay.
In the case of Mahesh (name changed), the claim for an accident which happened during a delivery in May this year has not yet been rejected, but there has been no response from the insurance company. Although he had sustained serious injuries on his arm and head, he has managed to recover enough to rejoin work.
Food delivery agent and their dependents have been finding it increasingly hard to get insurance claims for injuries or death caused by accidents or other reasons. According to several agents that The Hindu talked to, their claims have been getting rejected for flimsy reasons.
22-year-old Ashwin, who used to be a delivery worker with Swiggy, died in an accident on February 23. According to his sister P.Aswani, the company initially rejected the insurance claim citing that he had worked only till January 20 and that insurance claims can be provided only for those who have worked within seven days prior to the accident.
“We went to the bank in which he had an account and got a statement, which showed that the last transaction from the company to his account was on February 20. There has been no response after we sent this particular detail,” says Aswani.
According to the delivery agents, the company changes the criteria for awarding insurance on its whims. In the case of a 19-year old delivery agent who died in an accident in October, the criteria stipulated was that the agent should have worked within five days, instead of the seven days cited in previous cases. The few cases where delivery agents have received money has happened through the constant follow up from the workers’ union.
The Kerala wing of the All India Gig Workers’ Union is planning to go on a protest soon citing various issues, including the rejection of insurance claims. Delivery agents say that the rates have not been increased in the past few years despite the increase in fuel costs. The company officials were not available for comment.
Published – November 09, 2024 08:22 pm IST