Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana - Securing You @ Rs. 12 p.a

Time and again, the Indian government has left no stone unturned in ensuring that the citizens of the country are cared for. Be it by bringing about developmental changes across the country or by providing security in the form of schemes, the government of India frequently showcases that it is highly concerned about every individual. 

Back in the year 2015, the government of India had announced three social security schemes, namely Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or PMSBY. This article sheds light on Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or PMSBY and what it is all about.

What Is Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana?

Sponsored by the Government of India, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or PMSBY is an accident insurance scheme. This scheme provides cover for accidents, leading to death or disability. Helpful in preparing a person for unexpected emergencies, the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is highly popular for providing massive security at a minimal investment rate.

What is Covered under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana?

Under the yojana, the beneficiary of the insurance policy receives a death benefit of Rs 2 Lakh, in the event of accidental demise of the insured individual. Other than this, in case of complete disability such as irrecoverable loss of both the eyes, disability of both feet and hands, paralysis etc, a coverage of Rs 2 Lakh is provided to the insured individual. The coverage offered under this yojana is alongside other insurance policies that the insured individual has. There is no Mediclaim offered under this policy, as it is a complete life insurance policy, therefore, reimbursement of hospitalisation expenses incurred because of an accident is not offered under this policy.

Key Highlights of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

The prime features of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana include:

• Offers cover for 1 year
• Renewable on annual basis
• Available for Indians as well as NRIs
• Covers accidental death and full & partial disability
• Provides annual cover from 1 June to 31 May
• Available at an annual premium of Rs. 12 (exclusive of taxes), per family member
• GST exempted
• Premium is auto-deducted from policyholder’s bank account 

Eligibility Criteria for Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

All individual bank account holders, be it single or joint account status, belonging to the age group of 18 years up to 70 years can invest in the PMSBY scheme.

The key points to remember regarding eligibility include:

• Aadhar number is required for primary KYC purposes.
• If an individual has multiple accounts in multiple banks, they can join PMSBY through one bank account only.
• In case of joint account holders, all the holders will be allowed to join the PMSBY.

Risks Covered Under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or PMSBY covers you for : 

• Accidental Death 
• Permanent Total Disability - Total permanent loss of sight in both the eyes, loss of use of both the hands, loss of use of both feet, or loss of sight in one eye and loss of use of one hand or loss of use of one foot
• Permanent Partial Disability - Total permanent loss of sight in one of the eyes or loss of use of one hand or one foot

Sum Assured Under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

Benefits under the PMSBY include:

Sum Insured Amount	Benefits
Rs. 2 Lakh	Death
Rs. 2 Lakh	Permanent Total Disability (Total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes or loss of use of both hands or feet or loss of sight of one eye and loss of use of hand or foot)
Rs. 1 Lakh	Permanent Partial Disability (Total and irrecoverable loss of sight of one eye or loss of use of one hand or foot)

It is important to note that the total amount claimed under the benefit cannot be more than Rs. 2 Lakh in any case. 

Major Inclusions Under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

The key inclusions that Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana covers includes:

• Accidents, death or disability resulting from natural calamities. 
• Death due to drowning or any crime (murder, etc.) is covered (FIR is necessary to make a claim)

Major Exclusions Under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

The key exclusions under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana include:

• Death due to suicide
• Intentional self-injury or attempted suicide whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs 
• Any loss arising from any act made in breach of law with or without criminal intent

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Coverage Termination

The accident cover for a subscriber calls for termination in case of any of the below mentioned events. No benefit is payable: 

• On attaining the age of 70 years (age nearest birthday)
• Closure of bank account or insufficiency of balance to keep the insurance in continuity
• If a member covered through more than one account have their premium mistakenly received by the insurance company, the insurance cover becomes restricted to one only. Also, the premium is liable to be forfeited. 
• If insurance cover ceases, owing to issues such as administrative issues or insufficient balance on due date, reinstatement on receipt of full annual premium is possible, provided that conditions are met. 

Participating Insurance Companies

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana can be availed from Public Sector General Insurance Companies or any other General Insurance Company, offering the scheme on similar terms along with necessary approval and tie up with banks for same purpose. The list of insurance companies offering PMSBY include - 

• Bajaj Allianz
• National Insurance
• Cholamandalam MS
• United India Insurance
• Reliance General Insurance
• New India Assurance
• ICICI Lombard
• Universal Sompo

Participating Banks 

Both, public and private sector banks provide Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. The list of banks covered is as follows:

Public Sector: The list includes Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Bharatiya Mahila Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank, Corporation Bank, Canara Bank, Dena Bank, Federal Bank, IDBI Bank, Kerala Gramin Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travancore, UCO Bank, United Bank of India, Union Bank of India, and Vijaya Bank. 

Private Sector: The list includes Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, and South Indian Bank.

Procedure for Enrolnment for Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

By now, you must be aware of the Public Sector General Insurance Companies and other general insurance companies that offer and administer Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana in collaboration with the participating banks. 

If you are interested in this scheme, you can register yourself through the affiliated bank or an insurance company. You can also download the form from the Government website - https://www.jansuraksha.gov.in/Forms-PMSBY.aspx. 

Please remember, the participating banks provide applications of the PMSBY scheme through SMS or net banking. 

Lastly, you will be required to submit your form as well as the Aadhar card.

To enrol to the PMSBY scheme through SMS:

• You will receive the activation SMS.
• You will be required to respond to the SMS as ‘PMSBY Y’.
• You will receive the acknowledgement message.
• The Bank will process your request with the information available in the savings account.

Please Note: 

The bank will retrieve the demographic details of the nominee, nominee relationship and date of birth from the savings account. If this information is not available, then you will have to visit the nearest branch to apply for the scheme. 

If the auto-debit transaction fails, the insurance cover will end. 

To enrol to the PMSBY scheme through Net Banking:

• Login to your internet banking account.
• Select Insurance.
• Identify the account to be used for premium payment.
• Verify all the details and confirm.
• Download the acknowledgement.
• Save the downloaded acknowledgement for future reference.

Please Note:

You have the choice to duplicate the nominee details as appearing in the savings bank account. You can even choose a new nominee. 

Claim Process for Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana

To receive Pradhan Mantra Suraksha Bima Yojana claim, the insured must keep the documentations prepared. To file a claim, one must act as per the following steps:

• The insured or the nominee (in the event of death) must immediately inform their bank about the accident occurred.
• Claim form must be obtained from the bank or designated insurance companies or via the website and duly filled. 
• The duly filled claim form must be submitted to the bank branch within a period of 30 days from the day of occurrence of the accident.
• The claim form must be supported by original FIR, death certificate, post mortem report. In the event of disability, disability certificate issued by a civil surgeon must be provided. Discharge certificate needs to be enclosed as well.
• The bank, after the verification process, will forward the case to the insurance company within 30 days of the submission of the claim.
• The insurance company will thereafter confirm that the insured is in the insured persons master policy list.
• The claim will be processed within 30 days of receiving the documents from the bank.
• The admissible claim will be, thereafter transferred to the insured’s or nominee’s account.
• In case, a nominee has not been appointed by the insured, the death claim will pass on to the legal heir, provided that the legal heir produces the succession certificate.

Take note that a maximum time of 30 days is allowed for the bank to finish the claim procedure. Also, that the claims form can be downloaded from https://jansuraksha.gov.in/Forms-PMSBY.aspx

Points to Remember 

If you are willing to be a part of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, here are a few things that you must keep in mind:

• The PMSBY scheme serves as an addition to any other insurance plan availed by the subscriber. 
• PMSBY is not a mediclaim policy and therefore, does not reimburse hospitalisation expenses due to an accident, resulting in death or disability. 
• You can leave the scheme and rejoin in the future by paying an annual premium.
• NRIs can be covered under PMSBY, however, in case of a claim, the claim benefit is payable to the beneficiary/nominee in Indian currency only. 
• Banks allow an SMS-based enrolment process as well. You can also enrol yourself through net banking also. 
• The enrolment form can be downloaded from https://jansuraksha.gov.in/Forms-PMSBY.aspx
• Subscribers willing to continue beyond the first year have to provide their consent for auto-debit before 31st May for successive years. 
• Under the PMSBY, no claim is allowed for deaths during the first 45 days from the start of the risk. In case of a death due to an accident, the same is not applicable.
• Individuals who may exit the PMSBY at any time are allowed to rejoin on payment of the annual premium, subject to conditions. 
• There is no provision for reimbursement of hospitalization expenses following accidents leading to disablement or death. 
• All participating banks are the master policy holder for the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. 

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Conclusion

An excellent initiative by the Government of India, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is an exceptional accident insurance policy one can opt for. Wide coverage and minimal premium amount are the two prime reasons that make this policy worth investing in. In case, you didn’t know, as on 31st March, 2019, Cumulative Gross Enrolment according to the reports of Banks, subject to verification of eligibility, etc. is over 15.47 crore under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. A total of 40,749 claims were registered under the scheme, of which 32,176 have been disbursed. 

All in all, it is a great cover for Indians that provides utmost security at an extremely minimal cost.

Please Note: 

InsuranceDekho does not offer Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. However, if you are looking for health insurance options in general or critical illness insurance or Covid-19 insurance as per your specific requirements, kindly explore the site to gather details. You can also get in touch with our experts by calling at 18001205698 to know more about health insurers and their respective plans.

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.