As many as 812 insurance claims of deaths and disabilities among the Indian professionals emigrating to various countries have been settled in past four years under Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana scheme.
Responding to a query in Rajya Sabha, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Gen.(Retired) V K Singh informed the House that an amount to the tune of INR 633.54 million has been disbursed by the insurance companies against these claims in the given period.
On that other hand, the companies also collected a premium of INR 802.55 million during the same period – from 1 April 2014 till 31 December 2018 – under Pravasi Bharatiye Bima Yojana, a mandatory insurance scheme for all Emigration Check Required (ECR) category professionals and workers going to ECR countries.
The question was asked by Anto Antony Punnathaniyil, a Congress MP from Kerala, who wanted to know whether the Government was implementing any scheme called Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY), and whether the Government has any record regarding the claims settled under PBBY during the last five years.
Replying to the question, the minister said the insurance companies only maintain consolidated figures of settlement of claims and not the state wise details. The scheme provides an insurance cover of 10 Lakhs in case of accidental death or permanent disability and few other benefits at a nominal insurance premium of INR 275 and INR 375 for a period of two and three years respectively. The scheme, initially launched in 2003, has been amended in 2006, 2008 and 2017 with the overarching objective of expanding the benefits for emigrant workers.
As per revised scheme PBBY, 2017, operational since August 1, 2017, has made settlement of claims simpler for the benefit of our workers and is aimed at ensuring expeditious settlement of claims, the minister said. The revised scheme has also been made compulsory for various professions falling under work categories under Section 2(o) of Emigration Act, 1983 irrespective of the passport categories. PBBY, 2017 also includes global insurance coverage irrespective of employer and location, has facility for online renewal and a simplified process for certification of accidental death or permanent disability. The scheme is now more beneficial for emigrant workers and is aimed at ensuring an expeditious settlement of claims.
Some of the salient features of PBBY, 2017 are:
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The Insured person shall be covered for a sum of Rs.10.00 lakhs in the event of accidental death or permanent disability leading to loss of employment while in employment abroad, irrespective of change of employer/location of insured person.
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Certification of accidental death or permanent disability by Indian Missions and Posts abroad shall be accepted by the insurance companies.
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Medical insurance cover including injuries / sickness / ailment / diseases available upto INR 1,00,000 (up to INR 50,000 per hospitalization).
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Repatriation cover for medically unfit/premature termination of employment: Actual one-way economy class air fare to the nearest international airport in India.
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Family Hospitalization in India available upto INR 50,000 for Spouse and first two children upto 21 years of age.
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Maternity expenses benefit to women emigrants available upto INR 50,000
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Reimbursement of return economy class air fare to the nearest international airport to one attendant in case of emigrant’s accidental death or permanent disability.
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Legal expenses on litigation related to emigrant’s overseas employment admissible upto INR 45,000.
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Provision for on-line renewal of PBBY policy.