Companies including Bizongo, HSBC India, Titan Company, Navi, Meesho, and Simpl are among those that have rolled out or enhanced fertility benefits as part of their corporate insurance and benefits programmes as they focus on creating more inclusive and supportive workplaces.
Experts say such measures not only help companies attract and retain talent, but also boost their diversity credentials. For women employees in particular, such benefits matter a lot – a recent survey by employee insurance platform Plum showed one in 3 women are open to egg freezing; 88% of them want it to be included in their workplace benefits package.
Fertility benefits covered include associated in-vitro fertilization (IVF), Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), Genetic Testing, Associated Surgeries, associated Cryopreservation (Egg/Sperm/Embryo freezing), fertility consultation, fertility medication, hormonal treatment, among others.
“India has experienced a decline in fertility ratios; owing to multiple contributors, shift in marriage age to mid-30s, when the fertility is on the decline and the shift in family planning age, clubbed with various lifestyle issues,” said Prawal Kalita, Employee Benefits Leader at insurance broking and risk management company Marsh India.
“Organisations today are offering these benefits to support their workforce in managing one of their most important life needs, thereby offering respite to associated anxiety and stress that may impact their mental health, and consequently, work and productivity,” said Kalita. According to their recent survey, ~41% of employers offer this benefit to their employees.Cos step up
Bizongo has recently introduced comprehensive policies covering adoption, IVF, and egg freezing, said Sachin Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO, Bizongo.Since the rollout of these new measures earlier this year, employees undergoing egg-freezing, IVF, or adoption procedures are entitled to additional leave beyond existing entitlements; financial aid is also provided. Employees whose partners are undergoing treatments will receive extra caregiving leave.
“This underscores our commitment to inclusivity, ensuring that all individuals within our workforce feel supported and empowered throughout their journey to parenthood,” said Agarwal.
Titan Company covers surrogacy, IVF treatment on OPD and IPD basis; employees also have the option to top-up their medical insurance with maternity and infertility plans.
“Employees experiencing fertility challenges may struggle with physical and emotional stress… by offering support and resources, we help employees manage their health and well-being more effectively,” said Priya M Pillai, Head HR (Corporate, Retail & Manufacturing), Titan Company.
At Indian financial services company Navi, the corporate medical insurance policy provides coverage for both male and female infertility and related ailments. This benefit is available not only to married partners but also to live-in partners. Meesho’s employee insurance plan includes coverage for IVF treatments, providing up to Rs 1.5 Lakh on an IPD (In-Patient Department) basis.
At HSBC India, around 2% of women colleagues have availed of infertility treatment in the current and previous policy periods. To ensure employees don’t have to worry about the expenses that multiple treatments require, it will be doubling the coverage to Rs 2 lakh per policy year in the upcoming policy period.
“We are committed to being an inclusive employer offering a comprehensive set of benefits to our employees and their families,” said Archana Chadha, Head-HR, HSBC India.
Shweta Shridhar, lead benefits consultant, Plum, says they are seeing a 10-15% uptick in organisations looking to provide benefits around IVF.
Shobhit Agarwal, CEO, Nova IVF Fertility, agrees that there’s been a sizeable uptick in corporations’ interest in fertility benefits. It holds sessions on reproductive and fertility health themes and over the past year, more than 10,000 employees across organisations have participated in these.
“We have had approximately 50+ company tie-ups in the last one year including companies like Tech M and SAP India,” said Agarwal.