If you’re sitting there shaking your head at the whole Pokémon Go fad, get ready to do another major eye roll!
A Russian bank is offering players of the wildly popular app some free insurance to make sure they’re covered when they crash into each other (or cars!), tumble down stairs or even fall off a cliff!
Read more: ‘Pokemon Go’ may have access to your entire Google account …
The latest in fad insurance
Sberbank — which is sort of like the Bank of America in Russia, in terms of size — has stepped up with an offer of $800 (50,000 rubles) in free insurance coverage for players.
Pokémon Go players just have to register here to get a free insurance card mailed to them. If you actually have to make a claim on your policy, the amount of compensation you’ll get will vary by injury.
So why is the bank doing this? It’s all in the name of financial education and enlightened self-interest! In short, Sberbank hopes to expose players who take them up on their offer to other paid insurance products that it offers.
“Given the fact that some countries have reported injuries of players who were catching Pokémon, we have developed a special product that will be free for players,” says CEO of Sberbank Life Insurance Maksim Chernin. “It is also important for us that the project will improve financial literacy, as the younger generation will be able to learn about insurance instruments while playing the game.”
Actually, Sberbank isn’t the only Russian financial institution to try to cash in on the wild popularity of the recently released app.
Another Russian back called VTB will allow clients who take a photo of a Pokémon next to a VTB credit card to be entered to win double cash back in August. The VTB promotion runs through the end of July.
Read more: Police: Armed robbers using ‘Pokemon Go’ to lure victims
