Railway passengers booking their tickets on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website online will be able to opt for travel insurance cover for a premium of just ₹1 from September.

The new facility will be available for all passengers who book e-ticket, excluding suburban trains, through its official website, irrespective of the class of the ticket, on a trial basis, said the release.

The scheme offers compensations up to ₹10 lakh in the event of death or total disability, ₹7.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, up to ₹2 lakh for hospitalisation expenses and ₹10,000 for transportation of mortal remains in the event of death, or injury suffered in a train accident or other untoward incidents, including terrorist attacks, dacoity, rioting, shoot-out or arson, as well as for short termination, diverted route and Vikalp trains.

Uniform cover

The insurance cover is uniform for all classes and the option is available through a checkbox at the time of e-ticket booking. The premium amount will be automatically added to the ticket fare if the passenger opts for insurance. After the ticket booking and payment of premium, a message shall be displayed to complete the nomination details, which are necessary to settle the claims on timely basis.

Checking the option will make the coverage mandatory for all passengers booked under that PNR number and the premium charged accordingly. Users wanting coverage for children below five years of age will need to furnish details of the child at the time of booking and accordingly travel insurance premium will be added to the total amount payable.

The passenger will have to provide his or her email-id mandatorily for receipt of e-copy of the insurance policy. They will also receive confirmation as a text message from the insurance company, on real time basis.

Cancellation

The coverage will be valid from the departure of train from the originating station to its arrival at the destination station, including the process of entertaining and de-training. In case of diversion of a train, it will be applicable to the diverted route.

In case of cancellation of tickets, IRCTC will make an automatic refund of the premium amount after deduction of administrative charges to the passenger on the same account that was used to book the ticket.

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