Life is fragile as evident from the recent train accident that took 275 lives and injured as many as 1000 passengers. The ghastly accident touted as one of the biggest railway accidents in the past two decades has brought forth the imperative need to have travel insurance, especially, for those who love to travel.
With the advent of the web, booking tickets online has relieved travellers from queuing up in long lines at various railway counters. However, not many people are aware that travellers purchasing train tickets on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website or app can buy travel insurance for just 35 paise.
Keeping in line with this provision, IRCTC offers its customers coverage of up to ₹10 lakh in case of fatality, permanent total disability, or hospitalization resulting from an accident while travelling. Though the Railways has announced compensation for both the deceased and the injured, there is an added insurance coverage that the affected travellers can avail of.
The insurance coverage is doled out as
- An insurance payout of up to ₹10 lakh is made in the event that a passenger dies in a train accident or sustains a permanent complete disability
- The passenger receives compensation of ₹7.5 lakh in the event of a permanent partial disability
- Hospitalisation costs up to the amount of ₹2,00,000 are covered in the event of an injury resulting from the accident and ₹10,000 is paid for the transfer of mortal remains.
Does this scheme apply to all?
Irrespective of how gory the accident may be, insurance coverage is available subject to the condition that the travellers had booked their e-tickets via the NGeT website application only on the IRCTC site or app.
Also, the travellers must be Indian citizens, which means foreign travellers or illegal immigrants affected in the accident cannot seek insurance.
Many people do not want to avail of the travel insurance benefit lent by the IRCTC during ticket booking. They can choose not to pay for the same.
Those who have booked their e-tickets using the IRCTC app and have agreed to secure themselves with the insurance will receive information regarding the policy via SMS. Apart, the insurance companies share policy details directly on the email ids of their customers along with the link which they must click to file their nomination details. The policyholders can then extra the details of their policy numbers from the ticket booking history on the IRCTC page.
Post ticket booking, the policyholders must fill out the nomination details on the corresponding insurance provider’s website. In case of missing nomination details, the coverage amount would be credited to the accounts of the legal heirs.
The Orissa train accident has sent people reeling in shock and awe. With three trains colliding against each other in an unforeseen and unprecedented mishap, insurance companies have relaxed the settlement process for victims.
For example, to help victims of the Orissa railway tragedy, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) streamlined the claims processing procedure. Siddhartha Mohanty, the chairperson of LIC, expressed sorrow over the deaths of close to 300 persons and made a number of concessions to ease the burdens on LIC policyholders and recipients of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
In an equal measure, SBI Life Insurance also eased the claim settlement process norms for policyholders (aka the victims of the Balasore train mishap). To mitigate the hardships of the claimants of SBI Life policies, the company has taken immediate steps to ease the claim settlement process and documentation process which includes receiving alternate valid proofs of the claimants and supporting the family members of the deceased in this crucial time.
How to claim the insurance amount?
The claim procedure has been made relatively simple in light of the victims’ plight and how affected families are left shocked and devastated.
- Not later than four months after the date of the accident or mishap, the insured, his nominee, or legal heir shall share with the insurance company (at its nearest branch or office) a detailed statement in writing in accordance with the claim form and any other pertinent information.
- The insured or their legal heirs must furnish all reasonable information including policy details and proofs of documents in connection with any claim to be made under this agreement.
The insured and the legal heirs must take care to share all the Know Your Customer (KYC) documents as per the insurance regulatory authority’s guidelines.
