Compensation in case of death due to Covid-19
Now that Covid has hit lower middle class to lower-income group families in the country, it is necessary for everyone to remember at once whether they have paid an annual premium of Rs 330 or not
A few day ago, I receive this message on WhatsApp: “If recently anyone died in the family of your close relative or acquaintance, whether it is due to any illness or Covid-19, ask them to check the bank account details of the deceased. If the bank has deducted Rs 12 or Rs 330 between 01 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 in their passbook entry, then mark it! And ask the relatives of the deceased to go to the bank and submit a claim for an insurance amount of up to Rs 2 lakh. It is a humble request to all of you that if such an incident happened around you, then you must immediately inform the victim’s family or their family members to claim this insurance within 90 days and if possible, you can also help them in this work.
From the year 2015, the Government of India had provided two affordable insurance schemes for savings account holders of most of the banks: First, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) for Rs 330 and second, Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) for Rs 12. Most of the Banks had asked their customers to fill this form and the annual installments of both these insurances are deducted every year from our savings account. Help to spread this message. It may be that through this concerted effort, a grieving family will get financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh.”
This message may have been forwarded to many people. So, I thought of doing a fact-check. Recall the time when Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was announced. With that, two schemes, Prime Minister Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima started. The first scheme is linked to life insurance, while the other is to compensate for the accident and the loss from it.
First of all, it must be understood that not only Jan Dhan but also all other account holders can participate in both schemes. The only condition is that the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana can include account holders of 18 to 50 years of age while the upper and lower limits of age for the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana are 18 and 70 years respectively. While the annual premium is Rs 330 in the first plan, for the second scheme it is Rs 12. The premium amount will go directly from the account.
It is pertinent to note that the premium amount is valid for one year and every year the account holder has to allow his bank to deduct the premium amount. The account holder can also allow the bank to deduct the premium in one go. Any account holder can opt-out of the scheme and join anytime. One more thing, the benefit of the insurance will be provided for the same year for which the premium is paid. Another special feature is that the insurance cover will be available from June 1 to May 31. If the account holder deposits the premium before May 31, then the insurance cover will be restored from June 1.
Now, two things here require attention. Firstly, the scheme is voluntary and there is no point in fulfilling the condition of any kind. Secondly, the difference between the general insurance policy and these insurance policies is that in the first case, an independent policy is taken while in the second case the master policy is in the name of the bank. However, technically this will have an impact on the settlement of the insurance claim.
Post-Covid-19, a variety of special insurance policies were brought to the market, in which the maximum emphasis was given on the expenditure on the treatment of the disease. A traditional insurance policy is already in place in case of death, but there has been no discussion of Prime Minister Jeevan Jyoti Insurance Scheme. Now that Covid has hit lower middle class to lower-income group families in the country, it is necessary for everyone to remember at once whether they have paid an annual premium of Rs 330 or not. If yes, then check what year it is for, and make sure to discuss it with grieving family members, so that it can help them in dealing with any unforeseen situation.
In case of death due to Covid, compensation of up to Rs 2 lakh is given from the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. If you have only paid the premium for Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Bima Yojana, then no compensation for death due to Covid will be provided as it will not be treated as an accident.
(The writer is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal)
Download Money9 App for the latest updates on Personal Finance.
