The Indian Railways launched a scheme that allows a person to get an insurance cover of up to Rs.10 lakh on booking a train ticket online by paying less than Rs.1. A person booking a train ticket through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website will be able to opt for travel insurance cover for a premium of 92 paise.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu in his budget speech announced that the railways will provide optional travel insurance for train journey at the time of booking. The new facility will be available to all passengers, excluding those travelling by suburban trains while booking online irrespective of the class.

The cover will not be applicable for children up to five years of age and foreign citizens. It will be for passengers holding tickets such as confirmed, reservation against cancellation and wait-listed ones.

The scheme offers travellers/nominees/legal heir a compensation of Rs.10 lakh in the event of death or total disability, Rs.7.5 lakh for partial disability, up to Rs.2 lakh for hospitalisation expenses and Rs.10,000 for transportation of mortal remains from the place of a train accident or where an untoward incident, including terrorist attack, dacoity, rioting, shootout or arson, occurs.

However, no refund of the premium will be given in case of cancellation of the ticket. InfraCircle had on 18 June reported the railways may offer optional travel insurance for passengers. The scheme is being implemented by IRCTC in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Royal Sundaram General Insurance and Shriram General Insurance selected through a bidding process. A total of 19 companies had participated in the bidding process and 17 were found eligible.

The three selected insurance companies will get to issue the insurance policy on a rotational basis through an automated system. IRCTC has engaged the firms for one year with the provision of extending the contract on a performance basis.

Also Read: Train Ticket at Doorsteps

BY M. DIVYA SRI