Passengers who book their train tickets on the IRCTC portal will now automatically receive insurance coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh. The insurance cover is provided by SBI General Insurance Company Ltd and Liberty General Insurance Company Ltd. Passengers have the option to opt-out if they do not wish to have the insurance cover. The premium charged for the insurance cover is Re.0.35 paise. The insurance policy covers death, disabilities, and medical expenses in the event of a train accident during travel.
The insurance cover is provided by two non-life insurers, SBI General Insurance Company Ltd and Liberty General Insurance Company Ltd. This change could be a result of a tragic train accident in Odisha last month. A total of 624 passengers were covered under the IRCTC travel accident insurance scheme, and 22 claims were reported for disability and hospitalization due to the Odisha train accident.
In total, five claims have been lodged with Liberty General Insurance, with two claims settled for medical expenses and three claims pending. SBI General Insurance has settled two claims for Rs 2.25 lakh out of the 17 claims that have been lodged. There are 15 pending claims with SBI General Insurance totaling Rs. 48.27 lakh. Two claims were rejected as outpatient treatment expenses were not covered.
The number of passengers covered under a policy/ticket may vary as not all passengers choose to opt-in for the insurance cover. If all train passengers were offered the insurance coverage, the premium amount would likely decrease. When the insurance scheme was started in 2016, the premium was 0.92 paise per passenger.
To claim the insurance, passengers need to provide the necessary documents, and the insurers will settle the claims accordingly.