Odisha train accident: Govt. seeks data to shell out insurance claims

The government has asked insurance companies to immediately report about their exposures in terms of coverage and claim payments towards the victims of the triple train accident in Odisha on June 2.

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has asked the General Insurance Council, the official representative body of general insurers, and Life Insurance Council, the official representative life insurers, to collect data from their members about their exposures to the accident victims. The government is planning to shell out the insurance amount through three government schemes.

According to insurance sources, insurers are responsible for three kind of insurance coverage. General insurers, as part of government financial inclusion programme, provide some basic cover under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) through the banks.

Besides, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) provides optional personal accident cover to the passengers of Indian Railways at a minimal cost — 35 paise — since FY 2021-22 while buying tickets online.

IRCTC floats a bidding process and selects couple of general insurers every year for providing this cover and, in FY22, had covered over 16 crore passengers who paid Rs 6.56 crore of premium. One of the insurers for IRCTC’s passengers, SBI General Insurance has said it is dealing with any claims expeditiously and all assistance are being provided to their needy policy holders.