No insurance cover for Govt staff, tax payers

If you are a serving or retired Government employee you and your family will not be eligible for life insurance cover under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), a scheme for financial inclusion.

The Financial Services Department of the Finance Ministry has prepared detailed guidelines for the scheme launched by the Prime Minister on August 28. The scheme intends to provide life insurance cover of ₹30,000 for accounts opened under the scheme till 26 January, 2015. The LIC will provide cover.

“The aim is to reach the needy only, not everyone,” a senior Finance Ministry official said.

The list of ineligible categories for insurance cover includes serving and retired employees and families of the Central/ State Governments, public sector undertakings, public sector banks and Central/ State Government-owned entities; persons filing income tax returns or TDS; and those covered under the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana.

It has also been decided that the head or earning member of a family, aged between 18 to 59 years, will be covered. However, the benefit will be only for one person and can be availed of with the in-force RuPay card. Life cover will initially be up to March 31, 2020.

An in-force card can also be swiped to find out the balance within a certain period from the date of opening of account. Though the specific period is yet to be announced, a public sector bank head said some claim settlement applications had already been filed.

The guidelines also outline the process for claim settlement of accident insurance cover. This cover of ₹1 lakh will be available on RuPay card and will be provided by HDFC Ergo. One would need to swipe the card at least once within 45 days of opening the account. If the card-holder meets with an accident, the bank should be informed and documents submitted within 30 days of incident.

The bank will then intimate HDFC Ergo within 30 days and submit the documents within 60 days of the loss. In turn, the insurance company will register and forward the claim number to the bank concerned. Finally, the company will settle the claim within 10 days of receipt of documents. The National Payments Corporation of India will be the co-ordinating agency. Forms will be available at bank branches and on the website of the respective banks.

As on November 18, 7.64 crore bank accounts had been opened under PMJDY. Of this, RuPay cards have been issued to 4.5 crore account-holders, that is, around 59 per cent of the total accounts. The official said efforts are on to provide cards to each account-holder at the earliest so that the benefit of insurance cover can be provided.