Accidental Insurance For Railways Passengers: How You Benefit By Buying Tickets Online From IRCTC

Are you aware that the Indian Railways provides accidental insurance to its passengers and what is the procedure?

Are you aware that the Indian Railways provides accidental insurance to its passengers buying tickets online from IRCTC? In fact, in a bid to help its passengers, the Indian Railways had launched an Optional Travel Insurance Scheme w.e.f 01.09.2016 for the Confirmed/RAC railway passengers who book e-ticket through the official website of the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) portal at a premium of Rs 0.92 per passenger.

Under the scheme, the sum assured is paid to the victim/family or legal heir of the victim, as the case may be, in case of death/injury of reserved passengers due to train accident/untoward incidents as defined under Section 123, read with Sections 124 and 124A of the Railways Act, 1989, subject to the qualification that the coverage will be valid from the actual departure of train from the originating station to actual arrival of train at the destination station, including ‘process of entraining’ and ‘process of detraining’ the train.

Subsequently, to promote digital/cashless transaction, insurance is now being provided free of cost w.e.f 10.12.2016 to all the Confirmed/RAC railway passengers buying online ticket from IRCTC and no premium is being charged from the passengers.

The sum assured to be given to the victim/family or legal heir of the victim is as follows:

(i) In case of Death- Rs 10 lakh

(ii) Permanent Total Disability – Rs 10 lakh

(iii) Permanent Partial Disability upto- Rs 7.5 lakh

(iv) Hospitalization Expenses for Injury – Rs 2 lakh

(v) Transportation of mortal remains – Rs 10 thousand.

It should be noted that an amount of Rs 2,47,14,275 has been paid as compensation by the insurance companies since the launch of this scheme (i.e. from 01.09.2016) to 30.11.2017.