All those who frequently travel by train have reason to smile as the Government is likely to implement its proposed long-distance passengers’ optional insurance scheme in August.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Railway Ministry is all set to float tenders soon for the scheme to provide insurance benefit for passengers who travel with valid reserved tickets in all classes, ranging from sleeper class to first-class AC categories.
The corporation has been asked by the Ministry to rope in some insurance firms or brokers to float tenders for the passenger-friendly scheme. Also, the corporation is in talks with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to insure the lives of lakhs of railway passengers who travel daily.
“As far as passengers’ optional insurance scheme is concerned, the Railway Ministry communicated its consent for the programme to the IRCTC on May 15. The Ministry is in the process of floating the tenders after short listing some select insurance firms or brokers. We expect it to be completed soon and the passengers can avail the benefit by next month or so,” a senior official in the Finance Ministry told The Pioneer on Wednesday.
At present, there is already a mandatory insurance which Indian Railways offers to its passengers, but the proposed scheme is an optional insurance plan for passengers who want insurance over and above that.
When asked about the premium per ticket, the official added, “Premium would be very miniscule, ranging from Rs10 to Rs60 depending upon the distance and the class in which the passenger is travelling.”
However, insurance experts believe that the cost of such insurance premiums should not be too high and should be less than Rs5 per passenger per trip. “Given that it is a mass product, the premium should be lower than Rs5 per ticket,” said an insurance broker.
As per the scheme, IRCTC is expected to be a member of IRDA in order to float the scheme for providing coverage to passengers if any untoward incident happens during the journey. However, an IRDA member said, “It is not mandatory for IRCTC or any firm concerned to become a member of IRDA, rather IRCTC can tie up either with any broker or insurance company for its proposed scheme.”
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced in his rail budget in February this year that the people’s carrier would come up with an optional insurance scheme soon. According to Indian Railways, nearly 13 million passengers are served by the network daily, out of which nearly 12 million are unreserved passengers.
As per the coverage plan, around Rs 10 lakh will be provided in case of death and permanent disability, Rs 7.5 lakh for partial disability, Rs 5 lakh for hospitalisation and expense for injury and transportation of mortal remains will be Rs10,000 per passenger. The one-time insurance coverage will be valid from the actual departure to actual arrival of the train for passengers who opt for e-ticketing.
Over the period between March 2011 and February 2015, a total of 336 consequential train accidents, excluding incidents at unmanned level crossings, occurred resulting in injuries to 1,116 people and loss of 330 lives. The Indian Railways’ request for a Rs1.19-trillion passenger safety fund is still pending with the Finance Ministry.