Generali’s global action against Covid-19

All over the world, we are working to develop initiatives to protect our people and face the coronavirus emergency

Being Lifetime Partner to our people and customers is for us of the utmost importance and, today more than ever, it means building trust and joining forces to overcome the emergency. With the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, we have immediately taken action to protect the health of our people, be it employees, agents or business partners, and to preserve services continuity.

In all of our premises worldwide, we have put in place technology and processes that allow many of our employees to work from home, limiting their need to be physically present or commute to minimum levels; in addition, we have limited or cancelled trips and meetings, sanitized our offices and established, where possible, internal medical services.

We have done this with a sense of urgency whilst making sure we can guarantee the continuity of all our operations to support our customers in this difficult moment, providing timely and accurate information on alternative channels available for customer service as well as on new products and additional provisions to existing contracts to alleviate those hit by the virus.

In addition to this, several of our Business Units have developed special initiatives to assist our people and customers:

  • Among the initiatives linked to the International Extraordinary Fund, Generali Deutschland has set up a €30 million emergency fund to support customers and business partners. In collaboration with LunchLottery, the Group supports the online platform "Heroes Against Loneliness" and creates contacts with people who suffer particularly from isolation. Moreover, "Generali moves Germany", an online fitness programme to motivate people to remain physically and mentally healthy during lockdown, has been activated with the collaboration of Angelique Kerber. Generali Deutschland has also activated MacherHilfe, an online platform offering orienteering and access to State-financed support programs to German small-medium enterprises. Through its cooperation partner TeleClinic GmbH, Generali offers its customers full coverage with a paltform for telematic care. Finally, Generali Deutschland helped transport 1,500 medical suits donated by China from Munich to Italy, taking care of internal logistics and working with Air Dolomiti, the Italian regional airline owned by Lufthansa, and the Italian Embassy in Berlin.
  • Generali France is part of the € 200 million Insurance Federation contribution to the € 1 billion solidarity fund created by the French government dedicated to VSEs, SMEs and self-employed workers in difficulty, for whom there have been several adaptations and extensions of insurance contracts. Generali also donated € 3 million to assist the most urgent needs of the 38 public hospitals at the forefront of efforts to take care of Covid-19 patients. The Business Unit has also donated more than 10,000 masks to Saint-Denis hospital and Generali Real Estate France has made available 15 vacant apartments in Paris (around 50 bedrooms) to anticipate the sanitary crisis and meet the needs of hospital staff. Europ Assistance France is supporting the Samu social de Paris in over 5,000 disadvantaged households and has also contributed to the recommendations of the mission led by Jérôme Guedj to prevent the isolation of the elderly and at risk people during confinement. Europ Assistance has also been very proactive by lending medical material (7 respirators and 7 oximeters) to a major Parisian hospital as well as 12 ventilators to an intensive care unit in the Ile-de-France region, and by organizing the medical repatriation of French citizens. Remote healthcare consultations have increased threefold since early March, and around 50,000 aged people can benefit from remote support. Finally, Generali France has launched “Generali Covid Protection Salariés”, a non-profit cover to support employees. 
  • Generali Switzerland took action against people’s isolation with the initiative “heroes against loneliness”; it includes phone calls made by employees and agents to clients belonging to risk groups to enquire about their wellbeing, the creation of a landing page where people can register and be connected to each other, and the possibility for associations, companies and NGOs to get involved.
  • Assicurazioni Generali has made a €30 million contribution to Italy’s Civil Protection Department and Italian National Health System. In particular, thanks to the € 290.000 donated by employees in Italy, Generali is supporting a Fund set up by Civil Protection for the families of doctors and healthcare workers who have lost their lives in the fight against the virus, and the Covid-19 hospital in Camerino, in the region of Le Marche, among the areas that were hit the hardest by the pandemic. Generali has also donated €100,000 to the Italian State Police to purchase masks and personal protective equipment for officers working every day to support the community. Europ Assistance Italy has donated four lung ventilators to help face the emergency in Lombardy, while Generali Italia, Alleanza and Genertel offered a 24/7 teleconsultation with Welion and Europ Assistance. Generali Italia also developed new covers for its insurance solution GeneraSalute to support Italian companies and their employees, offering hospitalization and convalescence benefits and multiple personal care services such as GP home visits and home delivery of groceries. Moreover, Generali Italia has decided to enrich “Immagina Benessere”, the innovative insurance solution for Italian families tailored to their lifestyles, with new guarantees and services for prevention and health protection. Through DAS, the Generali Italia company specialising in legal protection, a “legal help desk” is available for all legal issues related to the spread of the coronavirus and the actions required to contain the epidemic. 
  • In Spain, Generali donated €1.8 million to the fund promoted by UNESPA for assistance to healthcare professional, while Europ Assistance donated a lung ventilator to the Getafe hospital in Madrid and activated a phone service to offer free psychological support to employees, agents and their families. In addition to this, Generali has activated three phone lines: Covid-19 Information, which provides official information on the epidemic and, if need be, refers the call to healthcare professionals; Amigo Generali, to receive emotional support; and Telepharmacy service, that allows employees and agents to receive home deliveries of medicines.
  • In Greece, the business unit decided to waiver the exception of pandemic in case of Covid-19 infection for existing policy holders, while offering daily hospital allowance coverage and death reimbursement.
  • In Turkey, an online service is being developed to provide customers with free advice and consultations with certified personal trainers, chefs and dieticians, in addition to discounts for grocery home delivery and free Netflix and Spotify subscriptions.
  • In Austria, a blog has been created to provide information and tips on health, fitness, prevention measures and inspiration on activities during isolation at home. Generali Austria also joined the initiative “heroes against loneliness”: it includes phone calls made by employees and agents to clients belonging to risk groups to enquire about their wellbeing, the creation of a landing page where people can register and be connected to each other, and the possibility for associations, companies and NGOs to get involved. The "drd" Startup (doctors recommended by doctors) offers general medical advice by video call all over Austria together with Generali and Drei. In order to relieve medical practices and minimize the risk of infection when visiting a doctor, the launch of the first full tele-medical service in Austria, originally planned for summer 2020, was anticipated. In cooperation with Europ Assistance, Generali also set up a hotline in Austria for medical questions and IT problems as well as for personal concerns and fears - irrespective of whether they are Generali customers or not. The hotline also provides psychological support and is available 24 hours a day throughout Austria. The team includes nurses, doctors, technicians, psychologists and health therapists.
  • In Hungary Generali made the Medi24 teleconsultation service free of charge for every client with Private Care and Company Care health insurance contract from early April. In addition, Generali covers the cost of the Covid-19 test once (up to HUF 15,000 – around €42), provides assistance in finding the test provider and offers consultations to infected patients, including those who are recovering at home. A blog was also created to provide information and tips on health, fitness, prevention measures and inspiration on activities during isolation at home. Finally, Generali for Safety Foundation donated HUF 50mln (around €140,000) to rearrange the specialised hospital of Buda Health Centre, National Centre for Spinal Disorders, as a Covid-19 hospital. The donation will also cover the purchase of tests for coronavirus screening, laboratory equipment and ultrasound equipment used in intensive care units.
  • In Poland, 48 ventilators were purchased thanks to the support of Generali Polska, which dedicated more than €350,000 to this purpose. In addition, in cooperation with Caritas Polska, as part of the "Grateful Medics" campaign, Generali will subsidized the purchase of respirators necessary for intensive care units. With other insurers, Generali Polska also supported the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration in Warsaw. The total amount currently allocated to hospital support by Generali Poland companies is PLN 360,000 (around €80,000).  A call centre was also created with the support of Europ Assistance Poland and it is active 24/7 to provide information to clients about travel precautions and how to prevent the infection from spreading. Moreover, Generali, Proama and Concordia Providea created a dedicated hotline for their customers, to provide free coronavirus advice. Consultants with medical education are available at a dedicated telephone number. Thanks to the cooperation with Meedy - a provider of telemedicine services - customers also can gain access to telemedicine services and medical consultations without leaving home.
  • In the Czech Republic, Česká pojišťovna's clients who are healthcare professionals and have insured property, car or life insurance were automatically insured for Coronavirus infection as of 1 May for three months and covered from the risk of hospitalization and death. Generali Česká pojišťovna has also collaborated with the Czech Nurses Association for the campaign “Pomáháme sestřičkám” (Helping nurses), offering life insurance, help and mental support to the healthcare professionals who are at the forefront of efforts to face the emergency. Moreover, thanks to the financial support from Generali Investments CEE amounting to CZK 1.5 million, Good Will Committee – Olga Havlová Foundation established the Senior Support Fund. The program aims to support field social services designed especially for seniors so that they do not stay at home in isolation without food, medication, and medical assistance. Generali has also joined the nation-wide campaign #ChránímTebe (#ProtectingYou) in which celebrities inform the public about the importance of prevention and the need to use protective masks.
  • Generali Osiguranje Srbija has published a mental health manual on its website, developed in collaboration with psychologist Suzana Banovic. Generali Srbija has also created a contact centre and a special Medic Call centre for clients with medical insurance. In addition, travel insurance policies have been extended for all customers who are abroad and cannot return home. Generali Osiguranje Srbija has also decided to extend Covid-19 coverage free of charge to clients with a small and medium-sized business insurance policy and to clients with a life insurance policy. The company has taken a special measure in the form of extending contracted coverage. Generali recommends that you do not wait for the renewal period to renew your insurance. You can edit your renewal, take out a new insurance as well as invoke your claim remotely today - by phone, online, e-mail or by using the My Generali app. In addition, Generali extends free of charge additional coverage in case of hospitalization due to Covid-19 to clients with a life insurance policy with a term of more than five years as well as coverage in case of death of the insured person as a result of Covid-19.
  • In Slovakia, Generali bought five top state-of-the-art UVD disinfection robots for the largest Slovak hospitals worth nearly € 435,000. All health care professionals who have an individual life insurance with Generali were provided with an automatic and free extra coverage beyond the framework of their contract covering the period 20 April 2020 – 19 July 2020. In case of hospitalization for at least three nights due to Covid-19, the coverage offered an extraordinary compensation of €700. In case of death directly caused by Covid19, the extraordinary compensation amounts to €10,000.
  • In Hong Kong, a coronavirus coverage was offered to business partners and customers (as a complementary coverage to a number of life insurance plans), consisting of hospital cash benefits and additional death benefits.
  • Recently, Employees from Generali Asia Regional Office and Generali Hong Kong have raised over HK$ 600,000 (around €65,000) by donating part of their leave days to the Hospital Authority (HA), established to manage Hong Kong’s public hospital services during the pandemic. The proceeds raised by Generali will be used to support the Hospital Authority’s efforts to combat COVID-19 in Hong Kong and protect the health of the community.
  • Generali China Insurance was the first to develop a Covid-19 protection policy for employees of small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, in collaboration with its partner Nanyan InsurTech. Other initiatives have followed, including the extension of existing insurance plans for both individuals and SMEs and a donation to charity foundations to support medical treatment and provide protective gear in severely affected areas. Generali China Insurance also decided to offer an insurance to all Chinese Medical Experts in Italy, to fully protect their safety and healthy. In cooperation with Europ Assistance Italy, Generali Concierge Services, a 24/7 dedicated hotline was also activated. The phone assistance that is offered with customized support services to provide doctors with the help they need.
  • Generali U.K. has entered into a partnership with Filmtronics Ltd to initially produce 10,000 face masks that are being delivered to the National Health Service hospitals in London. 
  • Generali Insurance AD has decided to assist medics at hospitals in Vidin, Belogradchik and Cherven Bryag, which daily struggle to preserve and improve the lives of people. In addition to that, Generali Bulgaria donated two respirators for two hospitals in the capital city, for more than €36,000. 

Further initiatives to support all Group employees, partners and customers are still being developed, testifying to our commitment to leveraging on our expertise to protect our people and face today’s challenges together.