PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Scheme (PM JJBS)

This page provides all the details you need to know about the PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Scheme (PM JJBS).

What is PMJJBS?

PMJJBS stands for Prime Minister Jeevan Jyoti Bima Scheme.

It is a pure Term Life Insurance scheme established by the Government of India to provide life insurance cover to Indians.

Though this scheme is for all Indians, it mainly aims at poor, under-privileged and workers in the unorganised sector.

This scheme provides life insurance cover to your family in case of your death due to any reason.

History of PMJJBS

During the budget for financial year 2015-16, the Prime Minister of India announced various Pension and Insurance schemes for all Indian citizens.

Of which, one such scheme was "Prime Minister Jeevan Jyoti Bima Scheme".

This scheme was effective from 01-June-2015 onwards.

Objective of PMJJBS

The main objective of PMJJB scheme is to provide life insurance cover to people of unorganised sector.

Encourages all Indian citizens to plan for their life insurance cover.

How does PMJJBS Work?

• Join PMJJB scheme in a Bank or Post Office

• You need to pay the premium amount Rs. 436 every year to get life insuarnce cover of Rs. 2 Lakh

• You need to provide "auto-debit" instructions to the concerned Bank or Post Office to deduct the yearly premium

• This scheme provides life cover for 1 year only. You need to renew the policy every year to have life insurance cover

• In case of unfortunate death of the account holder, the nominees will get a lump sum amount of Rs. 2 Lakh

• You can renew the policy every year till you reach 55 years of age. After that, you can't renew and you are no longer covered under this scheme

Features

• Established by the Government of India

• Life insurance scheme for all Indian citizens and it covers death due to any reason

• No medical checkup required to join the scheme

• The yearly premium is just Rs. 436 for the coverage of Rs. 2 Lakh

• The nominees will receive a lump sum amount of Rs. 2 Lakh in case of unfortunate death of the account holder

• Income tax benefits

Income Tax Benefits

Effective 01-Apr-2020, the income tax benefits will depend upon whether you choose old tax system or new tax system.

Old Tax System:

The yearly premium amount will be eligible for tax deduction under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.

In case of unfortunate death of the account holder, the nominees will receive Rs. 2 Lakh and this amount will get exemption under Section 10D.

New Tax System:

No income tax benefits. The yearly premium amount won't get any deduction benefit under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.

In case of unfortunate death of the account holder, the nominees will receive Rs. 2 Lakh and this amount will get exemption under Section 10D.

Who can Join the Scheme?

Eligibility:

The following are the eligibility criteria to join JJB scheme.

1. You should have a Savings Bank (SB) Account with Bank or Post Office. You can open a new account if you don't have one already

2. Your age should be between 18 years and 50 years

Once you join the scheme, you need to renew your policy every year as the coverage is for 1 year only. You can keep on renewing till you reach 55 years of age. After that, you can't renew any further.

During the account opening, it is recommended to provide Aadhaar Card details. But, it is not compulsory for account opening. You can provide them at a later stage.

The purpose of the Aadhaar card is for the identification of yourself, your nominees and to avoid lump sum insurance amount settlement issues in the long term.

How many policies can I buy?

At any time, you can have only 1 policy under PMJJB scheme.

Even if you have multiple Savings Bank (SB) accounts, you can join the scheme through one Savings Bank account only.

By mistake, if you buy multiple policies of PMJJB under multiple Bank accounts, your life cover will be limited to Rs. 2 Lakh only. Also, in case of unfortunate death of the account holder, the nominees will get only Rs. 2 Lakh. Also, the premium paid from different Savings Bank accounts will not be given back to you.

So, don't make the mistake of opening multiple policies from different Savings Bank accounts.

I am already having life insuarnce policy with other Insuarnce companies. Can I still join PMJJB?

Yes. You can join PMJJB scheme.

PMJJB scheme is independent of other life insuarnce policies. So, you can join PMJJB scheme even if you have life insurance policies with other Insuarnce companies.

Where can I Join this Scheme?

You can join PMJJB scheme at

1. Post Office

2. authorised Bank branches

When can I Join the Scheme?

The scheme's insurance coverage period is for 1 year and it is from June to May (1st June to 31st May). So, it is recommended to join the scheme on or before 31st May.

But, you can join the scheme any time after 1st June as well. In this case, you need to pay the premium amount on pro-rata basis.

Subsequent years, you can renew the policy before 1st June so that you will have 1 year cover from June to May.

Waiting Period for Death Benefits

There is a waiting period of 30 days if you join the scheme on or after 01-June-2021. It means that the nominees can't claim death benefits in case of unfortunate death of the account holder (due to any reason other than accident) within 30 days of joining the scheme.

The only exception to this waiting period is the death due to accidents. Death due to accidents is covered from day 1 of joining the scheme.

Also, this waiting period of 30 days is applicable if you leave the scheme now and re-join in future years.

But, this waiting period was not applicable to you if you joined the scheme before 01-June-2021. It means that the nominees could claim death benefit from day 1 in case of unfortunate death of the account holder.

Discontinuing and Re-joining the Scheme

This scheme is very flexible in terms of discontinuing or re-joining due to any reason.

If you want to discontinue, just stop paying the yearly premium amount. That's it.

If you discontinue the scheme now and you want to join in future years, it is possible.

In this case, you need to pay the premium amount for the policy period based on your joining date.

Note that you will have to undergo the waiting period of 30 days as you will be considered as a fresh applicant.

How much Premium should I Pay?

You need to pay Rs. 436 every year.

It is for the insurance coverage period of 1 year from June to May (1st June to 31st May).

If you join the scheme after 1st June, then you need to pay the premium amount on pro-rata basis as given below.

• If you join the scheme in June, July and August, then you need to pay the full year premium of Rs. 436

• If you join the scheme in September, October and November, then you need to pay the pro-rata premium of Rs. 342

• If you join the scheme in December, January and February, then you need to pay the pro-rata premium of Rs. 228

• If you join the scheme in March, April and May, then you need to pay the pro-rata premium of Rs. 114

The premium amount is same for everyone irrespective of the age group.

Your yearly premium amount will be deducted from your Savings Bank (SB) account through "auto-debit" facility. So, you need to fill in the "Auto-debit Authorisation" form.

You also have the option of providing one-time instruction to auto-debit every year till the policy is active or till you reach 55 years of age.

Government of India will review the premium amount every year based on the number of claims.

Death & Maturity Benefits

Death Benefits:

Death benefit amount is Rs. 2 Lakh.

That is, the nominees will get Rs. 2 Lakh in case of unfortunate death of the account holder due to any reason during the policy coverage period only.

In case of unfortunate death of the account holder outside of the policy cover period or after 55 years of age, then the nominees will not get any amount.

Maturity Benefits:

Since this scheme is a pure term insurance policy, there is no maturity benefits in this scheme.

It means that you will not get any amount when the policy period gets over or when you reach 55 years of age.

Policy Termination - When will the Policy Cover End?

Your life insurance cover under this scheme will come to an end in the following situations.

1. when you reach 55 years of age. After that, no life cover will be provided

2. when you close your Savings Bank (SB) account from which the premium gets deducted for this scheme

3. when your Savings Bank (SB) account does not have sufficient balance for the premium to be deducted on the due date

If your insurance cover gets over due to insufficient balance in your Savings Bank (SB) account or due to administrative problem with the Bank or Post Office, you can re-join the scheme by paying the full yearly premium.

But, note that you will have the waiting period of 30 days as you will be considered as a fresh applicant.

Which Death Events are Covered in this Scheme?

This scheme covers your death due to any reason. There are no exclusions.

The reason for death can be anything as listed below.

• natural death

• accident

• suicide

• murder

• natural disasters like earthquake, flood, etc

• any other events

NRI

NRI (Non Resident Indians) can join the scheme.

NRI should have a Savings Bank (SB) account with a Bank branch in India to join this scheme.

In case of unfortunate death of the NRI, the death benefit amount will be paid to the nominees in Indian Currency (Rupees) only.

Who Offers and Administers this Scheme?

This scheme is offered and administered by LIC of India and other Life Insuarnce companies in partnership with Banks and Post Offices.

The Banks and Post Offices can engage the life insurance company of their choice for providing this scheme to the common public.