Sberbank of Russia : Each fifth consumer borrower insures against job loss

About 2.5 mln of Sberbank's customers have applied for Sberbank life insurance program when concluding a consumer lending agreement since the beginning of this year. At the same time, 20% of them included an additional option, insurance against involuntary job loss.

Life insurance when applying for a consumer loan enables the customers to protect themselves and their family from the financial burden in case of unforeseen circumstances. If an insured event occurs, the insurance company makes payments and helps to partially or completely pay off the loan debt. The inclusion of an additional risk of involuntary job loss in the program enables you to receive compensation for days of unemployment in the amount of up to RUB 244,000.

Sberbank life insurance made 55,000 insurance payments to borrowers of consumer loans, including more than 2,600 payments related to involuntary job loss in January-September 2020. Top five regions for applying for life insurance programs for consumer lending are Moscow and Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Katrin Soomre, Director of Protective Insurance Products and Services Division, Sberbank:

'This year, due to the epidemiological situation and the state of uncertainty related to it, we can see an increased demand for insurance against job loss. It is important for customers who issue loans to be sure that their obligations to the bank will be fulfilled if an emergency occurs. In the near future, we will modify our voluntary life insurance program and add new risks to it, including the risk of a decrease in salary, for consumer borrowers at Sberbank. A new version of job loss insurance with a lower price and wider coverage will already become available to customers in all regions via Sberbank Online this year.'