A Russian bank has found the perfect way to leverage the popularity of Pokemon Go to promote its products. Sberbank is offering Russian players free Pokemon Go insurance, promising to compensate players with up to 50,000 rubles (about $800) in case of gaming-related accidents.
Playing Pokemon Go can be a very fun experience, but as you’ve probably already heard on the news, the addictive game can also cause serious accidents. Ever since the game’s release, people have been crashing into police cars, tumbling down stairs, getting shot and someone has even fallen off a cliff in their effort to catch the best Pokemon. These rare, but troubling occurrences have inspired Russian bank Sberbank to develop a product aimed exclusively at Pokemon Go players – free insurance that only covers injuries sustained while playing the popular mobile app.
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“As the biggest life insurance company in Russia, we feel our responsibility for the participants of Pokémon Go, the game that gains immense popularity now,” said Maxim Chernin, head of IC Sberbank Life Insurance. “Considering the number of news from around the world about players being injured while catching Pokémon, we created a special product that will be free for the players. It is also important for us that the product will help to raise the financial literacy of the population: while playing, the younger generation will be able to get acquainted with such financial tool as insurance.”
Sberbank adds that the free Pokemon Go insurance lets Russian players “concentrate on the game fully” knowing that in if they somehow suffer injuries while hunting for Pokemon, they will be entitled to a compensation of up to 50,000 rubles. To become a policy holder, players must enter their Pokemon Go nickname and mobile phone number on the bank’s Pokemon-themed website. And, to make sure that their insurance policy will be honored, people are instructed to also take a photograph of the site of their injury, as it could be required as evidence.
In order to boost its promotional campaign even more, Sberbank has also announced that all PokéStops near Sberbank branches across Russia will be equipped with special modules that attract Pokémon. “The modules will allow players to visit a nearby Sberbank office and catch missing Pokémon without having to move around the city. The modules will be active during the Sberbank offices’ working hours,” an official press release states.
When the Pokemon insurance policy was announced on July 18, it created some confusion, with a lot of internet users claiming it was fake, but Sberbank’s press office has since confirmed that the product is actually a real thing.
