"Adif," a special consumer and social club for people in Israel with disabilities, was launched today. The club, which is for people with recognized disabilities of 20% or more, offers monetary and consumer benefits of various types. "Adif" covers 50 disabled people's organizations. CEO Shlomi Avraham estimates the number of potential members at 1.5 million: 900,000 disabled people in the 18-67 age bracket, and 500,000 children of disabled people whose parents are eligible for "Adif" membership and pensioners.
Why do disabled people need "Adif"?
Avraham, a former CEO of Hever (the IDF and security forces servicemen and pensioners NGO), explains, "Most consumer clubs work for people who join them through their workplace. I distinguish between these clubs and the consumer clubs run by the supermarket chains, which are an entirely different mechanism. Most of the clubs appeal to people who are well off, who are mostly represented by a committee at their place of employment. We're reaching out to an enormous group, many of whom belong to marginal groups lacking support from a strong work committee.
"Beyond the consumer power of people with disabilities, this group has special needs, and there is very acute market failure, for example in insurance, when the group in question is high risk. Up until now, the insurance companies haven't really sat around a table to take care of this group, which has never formed one group with buying power for products and risks adapted to them. We're starting out with 4-5 insurance products, all at an average discount of 20% on the market price. We have already agreed on cooperation with Migdal Insurance and Financial Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGDL), The Phoenix Holdings Ltd. (TASE: PHOE1;PHOE5), and Ayalon Holding Ltd. (TASE: AYAL) in auto, fire, health, serious disease, personal accident, life, and overseas travel insurance."
Other services to be offered to club members include logistical arrangements, such as repair of cellular devices at home and issuing a disabled person's tag and an overseas disabled person's card. In addition, as part of cooperation with ISSTA Lines (TASE: ISTA), tour packages in Israel and overseas adapted to the members' needs will be offered, for example to those who are hard of hearing, have poor vision, and people with motor disabilities.
"We'll start with a limited number of products, and increase it with time," Avraham says, emphasizing, "There are two simultaneous significant developments here: a substantial consumer organization providing a large-scale consumer solution, and the creation of special products and services in almost every sphere."
The "Adif" club will operate through an American Express credit card (issued by Isracard) costing NIS 10 a month for members. Avraham calls the club a social business, since it undertakes to return 50% of its profits through projects benefiting people in Israel with disabilities, such as establishing a national transportation system for disabled people, social and leisure events, subsidized benefits, and support for disabled people's non-profit societies and organizations.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on May 8, 2017
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