India was struck by one of its worst train accidents when a triple train collision claimed the lives of at least 288 people and left over 1,100 injured last week. Now insurance companies are expediting the claim settlement process to provide financial relief to the victims’ families
India witnessed a tragic train accident involving three trains – the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast, and a goods train – resulting in one of the worst train accidents in the country’s history. The devastating incident claimed the lives of at least 288 people, with over 1,100 others sustaining injuries. As the nation mourns the loss, insurance companies have been directed to expedite the claim settlement process for the victims’ families.
Insurance Companies Act Promptly
Soon after the train accident, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced compensation packages for the affected individuals. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) also issued a directive to all insurers, urging them to proactively engage with the railway authorities and district administration to obtain a comprehensive list of victims. The aim is to initiate the claims process efficiently and ensure prompt settlement.
Liberty General Insurance, which provides Personal Accident insurance coverage to IRCTC train passengers—has launched a dedicated 24/7 helpline, +91-9324968286, for its policyholders (train passengers) impacted by the tragedy.
Roopam Asthana, CEO and whole time director, Liberty General Insurance said in a statement: “At Liberty General Insurance, we have implemented several extraordinary measures to ensure hassle-free claims process for our policyholders. Our helpline number +91-9324968286 is a quick point of contact for our policyholders, where a trained team of executives will sensitively guide them with their claim-related issues.”
Besides a helpline, it has also appointed a dedicated 24x7 task force to provide quick and efficient service to the affected passengers along with a nodal officer to oversee the process and ensure that customer queries and claims are handled efficiently and accurately.
Insurance Companies Streamline Claim Settlement
In accordance with Irdai’s instructions, insurance companies have swiftly adapted their claim settlement processes to assist the victims’ families during this challenging time.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance, for example, has assigned a dedicated Single Point of Contact (SPOC) at their Balasore branch to aid the victims’ families and expedite claim processing.
Nitin Mehta, chief customer officer, head-digital at Bharti AXA Life Insurance, said: “We are proactively looking for the list of victims and reaching out to their nominees if they are our policyholders.”
Likewise, SBI Life Insurance has taken immediate steps to ease the claim settlement process and documentation requirements for the victims’ families. The company has pledged its support by accepting alternate valid proofs from claimants and establishing a special help desk to address queries and provide seamless assistance throughout the claim settlement process.
The kin of the victims can contact SBI Life Insurance officials through dedicated email and toll-free numbers for immediate support.
“To mitigate the hardships of the claimants of SBI Life policies, the company has taken immediate steps to ease the claim settlement process and documentation process, which includes receiving alternate valid proofs of the claimants and support the family members of the deceased in this crucial time,” SBI Life said in a press release issued on Sunday.
Additional Coverage And Support
Insurance companies are working to identify victims who held policies with them, ensuring that their nominees are promptly contacted for claim initiation.
If the policy includes an ‘accidental death rider,’ additional coverage will be provided, while policies without this rider will pay out the sum assured (death benefit) as the claim amount. Each claim will be processed based on the terms and conditions of the respective policy.