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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday called for maximum use of simplified mechanism to settle insurance claims for health workers fighting Covid-19.
The Minister met the heads of insurance companies to review the progress made under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting Covid-19 and also to accelerate the disbursement of pending claims under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) during the pandemic. She also stressed the importance of streamlining the process and documentation requirements under the schemes so that the claims are disbursed speedily.
Number of claims raised
During the review, the Minister observed that under the PMGKP scheme, a total of 419 claims have been paid as on date, amounting to ₹209.5 crore disbursed in the account of their nominees. To address the issue of delays arising out of States sending documents, she said that a new system has been put in place whereby a simple certificate from the District Magistrate (DM) and endorsed by the nodal state health authority will be sufficient to process these claims.
Also read: Centre directs States/ UTs to take special care of vulnerable children impacted by Covid-19
Highlighting an effort by New India Assurance Co, she cited the example of Ladakh where a claim was settled within four hours of receiving the DM certificate and urged to maintain a similar approach in future. She also directed the States to take up Covid claims of health workers on priority and make maximum use of this simplified mechanism that has been put in place.
‘Be sympathetic’
The Minister further observed that under PMJJBY, since the beginning of the pandemic, 1.2 lakh claims have been paid amounting to ₹2,403 crore, at a disposal rate of 99 per cent. She emphasised that insurance company officials should continue being sympathetic while providing services to nominees of deceased policy holders, especially during pandemic period. She also appreciated the recent efforts made by insurance companies and banks in speedy processing of claims.
Also read: What you should know about Covid death claims under ESI and EDLI schemes
PMJJBY, along with PMSBY (Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana), were launched in 2015 to provide life and accidental insurance covers respectively of ₹2 lakh each to all beneficiaries enrolled under the schemes through their bank with annual premium of only ₹330 and ₹12, respectively.
The objective is to ensure that more and more persons working in the unorganised segment get the much-needed financial security of ₹4 lakh by enrolling themselves under the PMJJBY and PMSBY at a premium of less than ₹1 per day.
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