Railway passengers are covered automatically under travel insurance | Fusion - WeRIndia

In a significant change to its insurance scheme, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) now offers passengers the option to opt out of the ₹10 lakh personal accident insurance cover when booking train tickets on its portal.

Previously, passengers had to choose insurance coverage, but now they are covered under the insurance automatically when booking tickets. Those who do not want this can have the option of opt-out.

Interestingly, the premium charged for this substantial insurance cover is a mere 35 paise. The policy covers death, disabilities, and medical expenses resulting from train accidents during travel.

The insurance cover is provided by two non-life insurers. They are SBI General Insurance Company Ltd and Liberty General Insurance Company Ltd.

This change in the scheme might be a response to the tragic train accident in Odisha last month, which claimed the lives of 288 passengers and left over 1,000 injured.

According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), a total of 624 passengers were covered by the IRCTC travel accident insurance scheme.

Out of the 22 claims reported to the insurers for disability and hospitalization due to the Odisha train accident, there have been no claims for death.

Liberty General Insurance has settled two claims amounting to ₹17,800 for medical expenses, while three claims totalling Rs 6 lakh are pending. SBI General Insurance has settled two claims for ₹2.25 lakh out of the 17 claims lodged for ₹50.52 lakhs towards disablement and medical expenses.

The insurer has 15 pending claims amounting to ₹48.27 lahks, and two claims have been rejected as they do not cover outpatient treatment expenses.

The reason for the delay in settling claims is attributed to the lack of necessary documents and passengers receiving treatment in government hospitals, as per the IRDAI.

It is observed that many passengers booking Tatkal train tickets on the IRCTC portal may not be inclined to select the insurance cover option, as their primary goal during the booking process is speed and efficiency.

If all train passengers were offered travel insurance cover, the premium amount could potentially decrease further from the current 35 paise.

When the insurance scheme was initially introduced in 2016, the premium charged per passenger was 92 paise.

The IRCTC’s insurance scheme now provides passengers with automatic insurance coverage and provides up to Rs ₹ lakh personal accident insurance cover.

The nominal premium amount and the coverage of death, disabilities, and medical expenses during train travel make it an attractive option for many. However, the number of passengers opting for insurance may vary due to the fast-paced nature of Tatkal ticket bookings.

The recent change to allow passengers to opt out may have been prompted by the tragic train accident in Odisha.

Image Credit: Amol.Gaitonde, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Reference: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kolkata_Tram_on_Mahatma_Gandhi_road_IMG_20181215_101007.jpg