This Indian agency is the first to update its insurance policy that includes same-sex couples and live-in partners
With the abolition of Article 377 that decriminalised homosexuality, our country has come a long way. However, the LGBTQIA+ community still has to fight for basic social rights and financial planning needs.
From hunting for a perfect apartment where they don’t get an eviction notice in the first month of moving in with their partner to dealing with social prejudices, the queer community also has to navigate through a financial ecosystem that doesn’t back them up at all. They need to have a higher rate of savings to prepare for medical emergencies or even for planning to adopt a pet.
While several companies now offer insurance coverage for gender-reassignment surgery, DDB Mudra Group is the first agency network in India to cover same-sex couples and unmarried partners who live together under its insurance policy.
Married heterosexual couples in India live stress-free because they are covered with their spouses’ family-floater health policy. So, with its latest move, DDB Mudra Group aims to modify the definition of ‘family.’ It is also an honest attempt at building an inclusive workplace for its employees .
To bring about this change, the HR team at DDB Mudra Group had to stay patient and push themselves as the process took an entire year. Rita Verma, Executive Vice President & Head-HR, DDB Mudra Group said that it was worth the wait.
She said, “Today, I’m very proud to say that our medical insurance covers our people’s partners – same-sex, hetero, live-in or married. This entitlement of medical benefits from only the spouse to anyone you love is monumental. To drive this change internally and with our insurance partners required unwavering commitment. The entire process took almost a year, but it was so worth it. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and as a Group, we will continue to push ourselves to shed any unconscious bias in the work environment, every single day.”