In March, India’s leading fashion e-commerce platform, Myntra, unveiled MynShield—a hyper-personalised and inclusive insurance programme that has set a new benchmark for employee care.
At the heart of MynShield is a bold and refreshing concept: customisation. Recognising that no two employees have the same needs, the programme empowers individuals to tailor their health coverage according to their unique life circumstances.
The programme emerged from a simple but transformative piece of employee feedback—a team member inquiring whether the company’s insurance policy might cover aspects of mental wellbeing.
“Our employees can choose who they want to insure—whether it’s themselves, their spouse, children, parents, in-laws, or siblings under 25 if dependent,” explains Govindraj M K, CHRO, Myntra. This a la carte approach extends to coverage amounts and supplementary benefits, allowing staff to construct insurance packages suited to their particular circumstances rather than accepting standardised offerings.
“Our employees can choose who they want to insure—whether it’s themselves, their spouse, children, parents, in-laws, or siblings under 25 if dependent.”
Govindraj M K, CHRO, Myntra
The programme’s definition of family proves notably progressive in the Indian corporate context. Coverage extends to same-gender partners and disabled siblings with no age restrictions—an acknowledgment of diverse family structures often unrecognised in traditional insurance schemes. Perhaps most unusually, MynShield includes pet insurance, recognising the emotional significance of animal companions in employees’ lives.
This adaptability ensures that coverage evolves with employees’ changing priorities. Annual adjustments allow staff to reflect significant life events—marriages, births, ageing parents—in their insurance selections, treating coverage as a dynamic rather than static benefit.
Beyond its flexibility, MynShield’s most substantive innovation may be its shift from reactive healthcare to preventive wellbeing. While the programme provides comprehensive support for hospitalisations, outpatient treatments and specialised therapies, it places equal emphasis on preventive screenings and wellness initiatives.
“We want employees to think about health proactively so that we can prevent adverse events before they occur,” Govindraj notes. This approach aims to transform corporate healthcare from crisis management to ongoing wellbeing support—potentially reducing long-term health risks while simultaneously addressing immediate needs.
Mental health support received particular attention. Employees and their families have unlimited access to professional counselling through an Employee Assistance Programme, with mental health therapy covered under both outpatient and hospitalisation benefits. This comprehensive approach contrasts sharply with the superficial mental health offerings common in Indian workplaces, which frequently amount to little more than an awareness webinar or underutilised helpline.
Myntra has complemented these services with organisation-wide awareness initiatives, including town halls, benefits education weeks and ongoing communication. The result, according to Govindraj, is that “employees don’t just know support exists—they trust it and use it”—a significant achievement in a country where mental health stigma remains pervasive.
The programme’s implementation required overcoming considerable operational hurdles. Insurance providers typically resist such customisation, preferring standardised packages that simplify administration. Myntra addressed these challenges through careful partner selection, technology-enabled platforms that facilitate individualised choices, and consistent prioritisation of employee needs over administrative convenience.
“It’s all about the intent,” Govindraj observes. “If you are clear about the outcome you want for your people, solutions will follow.”
Early adoption rates suggest the approach resonates with staff. Nearly 90 per cent of Myntra’s employees have personalised their insurance coverage beyond default offerings—a figure that reflects not merely awareness but active engagement with the programme. Feedback has been particularly positive from groups often marginalised in conventional benefit schemes, including LGBTQ+ employees and staff with non-traditional family structures.
MynShield’s innovations appear especially notable given the broader Indian corporate landscape, where employee benefits frequently emphasise competitive benchmarking over genuine care. By contrast, Myntra’s approach treats benefits as integral to corporate culture rather than a peripheral consideration.
The programme represents the beginning of a more comprehensive philosophy at Myntra—one the company describes as adaptive, inclusive and globally benchmarked. The firm is already exploring additional elements and partnerships based on emerging employee needs.
Even small initiatives, such as pickleball courts at its campus that combine physical activity with social connection, signal this holistic thinking.
“As work becomes more fluid, diverse, and demanding, we believe genuine care must evolve just as fast,” says Govindraj.
In India’s increasingly competitive talent market, particularly within the technology sector, such personalised approaches may offer significant advantages. The Great Resignation that followed the pandemic revealed employees’ growing emphasis on workplace culture and genuine care over mere compensation packages. By treating insurance benefits as expressions of values rather than simply cost centres, Myntra has positioned itself distinctively.
MynShield functions less as a traditional corporate benefit and more as a declaration of principles—that employee wellbeing is fundamental rather than supplementary, and that care should be as individualised as the people receiving it. In a corporate world still dominated by standardised approaches to human resources, this philosophy represents a meaningful departure.
For multinational firms struggling to retain talent or enhance employee engagement, Myntra’s experiment offers an intriguing case study. By applying the personalisation principles that drive consumer experiences to employee benefits, the company has created something more valuable than an insurance programme: a template for workplace care that acknowledges employees as individuals rather than interchangeable resources.
