NIDHI TAPARIA
It seems like Indian Railways is indeed going to be the engine of India’s growth; becoming the harbinger of acche din for the Indian masses. The Suresh Prabhu-led Railways Ministry will now be providing travel insurance to its train passengers for an unbelievable one paisa, starting from October 7, 2016, though for a temporary period. This, in the words of an IRCTC official, is a “Diwali bonanza” for the Bharatiya yatrigan!
Suresh Prabhu, already very popular for his resolve to put innovative and brilliant ideas to practise, had previously announced in the Rail Budget 2016 that the railways will start with an optional travel insurance scheme for train passengers. On September 1, 2016, the railways unveiled its flagship scheme of providing travel insurance on train journeys worth Rs 10 lakh, at the time of booking.
The insurance scheme is available to all passengers except those travelling using the suburban rails. The insurance cover will be applicable for all travelers except children below 5 years of age, and foreign nationals. It is also irrespective of class that is booked for the journey. The scheme is exclusively available for online bookings on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website (www.irctc.co.in). What is most striking about this facility is that it is offered at a bare minimum premium of 92 paisa only. The premium is automatically added to the travel fare, once the passenger opts for insurance.
Travellers/nominees/legal heirs of the travellers are offered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh in the event of death or total disability, Rs 7.5 lakh for partial disability, upto two lakh rupees 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, as well as for short termination, diverted route and Vikalp trains. It covers the passenger from the actual departure of train from the originating station to actual arrival of train at the destination station, including process of entraining and detraining. However, in case the ticket is cancelled, the premium shall not be refunded.
The scheme received an overwhelming response from the general public after its initiation a few weeks ago. In less than a month’s time, it garnered a positive reaction from one crore people, who opted for it at the time of their online booking. Consequent to this, Indian Railways came up with the one paisa-ensures-insured-travel idea. “We have decided to implement the reduced price for the optional travel insurance scheme with immediate effect. It is a special promotional measure and the idea is to facilitate more and more rail travellers avail this scheme,” IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director A. K. Manocha said, adding, “It is a Diwali bonanza for our patrons.” While announcing the scheme, Manocha also informed that a whopping 1,20,87,625 train passengers had opted for the scheme till 8 AM on October 6, 2016.
The IRCTC is working in collaboration with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Royal Sundaram General Insurance and Shriram General Insurance. The firms made the cut out of 19 companies that participated in the bidding process. Out of the 19 participants, 2 were previously declared ineligible. The three selected insurers will now provide insurance facility to the travelers on rotating basis and also stand a chance to be awarded a one-year contract extension. The extension will be awarded on performance basis.
All in all, Indian Railways are marching ahead swiftly towards its motive of ensuring not only a happy journey for its passengers, but also a safe and sound one!