Supreme Ventures has partnered with Sagicor to provide health insurance for its 1,000 strong retailer network amid the local spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Under the partnership, registered SVL retailers will be able to access health insurance at a reduced cost for themselves, their families and their employees.
CEO of Prime Sports Jamaica Limited, the subsidiary with responsibility for the SVL retail network, Xesus Johnston says the initiative was in train but negotiations were fast-tracked in light of the local spread of COVID-19.
“We had commenced negotiations regarding the execution of the plan earlier this year, but once it was announced that coronavirus had made landfall in the island, we decided to speed up those talks so that our retailers could be covered under the plan as soon as possible,” he said.
With this new health coverage plan, retailers will be asked to pay a minimal fee to cover their family and employees. The fee will be deducted from their monthly settlements to SVL and sent to Sagicor on their behalf.
Johnston says the programme will lessen the cost of health insurance for retailers, and allow them to receive more coverage for themselves and their team.
“These are challenging times, Jamaica is in the middle of a health crisis and it is having a profound negative effect on revenues for all businesses, our retailers included. We wanted to have this plan implemented immediately so it would remove some of that burden and allow them to adequately cover themselves and their employees,” he said.
Willard Brown, Executive Vice President, Sagicor Life Jamaica, congratulated SVL for its progressive step towards providing for the healthcare needs of one of its key stakeholder groups, particularly during the current crisis.
He noted that this partnership represents a consistent focus by Sagicor Life to expand its health coverage to traditionally underserved sections of the Jamaican population.
“We are happy to deepen our partnership with Supreme Ventures Limited and recognize this move as a meaningful step in the overall health and wellbeing of our society. At Sagicor, we are committed to playing our role to be part of a national solution for the delivery of health services by assisting people to obtain the necessary financing,” Brown said.
Supreme Ventures operates its lottery and sports betting brands chiefly through its network of 1,000 active retailers islandwide.
Most retailers operate other small businesses alongside their SVL terminals, and some have been forced to close their doors after the Government of Jamaica ordered the closure of non-essential businesses and explicitly, places of entertainment in an effort to stem the local spread of the virus.
Source: https://www.loopjamaica.com/content/svl-partners-sagicor-offer-health-coverage-retailers
