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Everything you need to know about Saral Suraksha Bima: IRDAI’s new standard personal accident cover

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Published on February 26, 2021. EST READ TIME: 4 MIN

In the risk-prone environment that we live in, the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) continually makes insurance a stronger and more prominent contributor to people’s feeling of security. It has been focusing not just on health insurance but also on other non-life insurance to bring out better insurance products to benefit citizens.

What is Saral Suraksha Bima?

From April 1, 2021, all general and health insurance companies in India have to offer a standard personal accident insurance policy. Mandated by the regulatory body, IRDAI, the policy will be named Saral Suraksha Bima, which will be succeeded by the name of the insurer. This will be a standard accident product with common coverage and policy wordings across insurers, which every policyholder should know. The cover will be offered with a tenure of one year.

What does the policy entail?

As per the final guidelines issued by IRDAI, the standard Saral Suraksha Bima product will be offered on an individual basis. However, if offered as a family plan, the sum insured shall be applicable separately to each family member. The minimum sum insured under the cover will be ₹2.5 lakh, and maximum ₹1 crore. The sum will be in multiples of ₹50,000.

Furthermore, the minimum age for insured members starts from 18 years, while maximum age to purchase this policy is 70. Dependent children, from 3 months to 25 years old, too can be covered under the plan. However, the terms and conditions of the policy (such age coverage amount, age of policyholder etc.) can vary, subject to the underwriting policy of the respective insurer.

What is the policy coverage?

Along with the base covers of the standard personal accident product, the policyholders will now be able to avail three optional covers. Two covers of three, i.e. Temporary total disablement benefit and education grant covers, will be offered on a benefit-basis. However, the third cover, i.e. hospitalization expenses occurring due to an accident, will be offered on an indemnity basis.

What are the benefits?

Demise: Upon the demise of the insured, 100% of the sum assured shall be paid as a benefit if the death results from an injury sustained in an accident, and provided the death occurs within 12 months from the date of the accident.

Permanent Total Disablement: If the policyholder suffers from permanent total disablement, they will be paid 100% of the sum assured as a benefit. However, the disablement should be due to an accident during the policy period.

Partial Disablement: For policyholders suffering from partial disablement due to an accident, depending upon the severity, a benefit of upto 50% of the total sum insured will be paid.

Incapable of Engaging in Employment: Policyholders with employment will be safeguarded under this personal accident cover as well. If the insured person sustains injuries in an accident and it renders him incapable of engaging in employment, then they will be eligible for compensation at the rate of 0.2 per cent of the base sum insured per week until they can return to work.

Educational Grant: Dependent children of the insured will also be secured under this cover. A one-time educational grant of 10 per cent (of the base sum insured) will be available for dependent children below 25 years of age pursuing an educational course.

Hospitalization Costs: Hospitalization costs due to accident will also be indemnified upto 10% of the base sum insured.

What are the exclusions?

Warlike Conditions: Claims for death, disablement (permanent or partial), hospitalization of the policyholders due to warlike conditions such as wars, revolution, invasion, restraints etc., will be not covered.

Self-injury or Self-harm: Claims arising out of intentional self-injury (unless to save life or in self-defense), suicide or attempted suicide will remain uncovered.

Radioactive Incidents: Claims due to ionizing radiation or contamination by radioactivity from nuclear fuel or nuclear waste will be excluded.

Conclusion

As much as we want, the risks of accidents cannot be wished away. And with such increasing uncertainty, this new personal accident policy is a must-have in your portfolio. This policy is comprehensive, and it has been devised to offer utmost comfort to the policyholders.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

This blog has been written by:

S. Gopala Krishnan | Motor Insurance Expert | 40+ years of experience in insurance industry A veteran in insurance industry. S. Gopala Krishnan is a name to reckon with in the field of reinsurance, he has headed the Reinsurance department and has rich experience in other fields of motor insurance. He loves to share his opinion on latest topics in the insurance industry and how he can help people in safeguarding their assets using insurance products.

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Few Other Articles:

• A personal accident insurance is a must

• 10 things to know about personal accident policy

• How does having a personal accident insurance policy benefit you

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