The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in a bid to promote digital transactions on its website had introduced free travel insurance for passengers since December 2017. From now on, this cover will be available as an option with the customer having to manually select and pay for it. This change has gone into effect from September 1.
In the official press brief, IRCTC stated that insurance plans are contractual obligations between the insurer and the insured. So in the case of a claim or liability, the insurance company will be responsible for claim settlement, as well as for issuance of new policies.
For those opting for insurance cover, under the previous scheme a sum insured of ₹10 lakh was paid out if the insured died during the train journey. If an accident led to disability, the passenger will receive a compensation of ₹7.5 lakh. Injury and transfer of mortal remains were allocated amounts of ₹2 lakh and ₹10,000 respectively.
If the travel insurance coverage is taken for a PNR number which has many passengers under it, the coverage will be mandatory for all passengers under that PNR number. However, the coverage will not be available to children below the age of 5 years. The press release also mentioned that premiums that have been paid once will not be refunded under any circumstances.