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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget 2015-16 announced a low-cost personal
accidental cover called Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana to increase the
insurance penetration level in the country.
What is personal accidental and full disability cover: It is an insurance policy
which covers death or disablement of the policyholder caused due to accident or
accidental injuries.
Risk coverage: The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana will offer an accidental
death and full disability cover of Rs. 2 Lakh and for partial disability cover
of Rs. 1 Lakh.
Eligibility: This cover is available to people in age group 18 to 70 years.
Premium: Rs.12 per annum.
What Experts Say: Financial planners say it is a good option for those without
an insurance cover but for the middle class the cover is inadequate. Suresh
Sadagopan, the founder of Ladder 7 Financial Advisories, says an equivalent
cover in the market would cost higher (around Rs. 100) but the cover itself is
not meaningful for most in the middle class. A cover of nearly Rs. 50 lakh can
be bought for Rs. 6000, he added.
Payment Mode: The premium will be directly auto-debited by the bank from the
subscribers' account.
Renewal: Subscribers have to renew this accidental cover every year. If they
don't want to have the hassle of renewing the cover every year, they can give an
instruction for auto-debit of bank account every year.
Who will offer this scheme? The scheme will be offered by all public sector
general insurance companies - New India Assurance Company, National Insurance
Company, The Oriental Insurance Co, and United India Insurance Co - through
tie-ups with banks. The government also plans to rope in other insurers as well.
How to opt: Any person having an Aadhaar-linked bank account can join the scheme
by submitting a form to the bank.
Launch date: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is expected to be launched on
June 1 this year. |