PM Suraksha Bima Scheme (PM SBS)

This page provides all the details you need to know about the PM Suraksha Bima Scheme (PM SBS).

What is PMSB?

PMSBS stands for Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Scheme.

It is an Accident Insurance scheme established by the Government of India to provide accident 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 death and disability cover due to an accident.

History of PMSB

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 Suraksha Bima Scheme".

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

Objective of PMSB

The main objective of PMSB scheme is to provide accident insurance cover to people of unorganised sector.

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

How does PMSB Work?

• Join PMSBS scheme in a Bank or Post Office

• You need to pay yearly premium of Rs. 20 to get accident insurance 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 accident cover for 1 year only. You need to renew the policy every year to have accident insurance cover

• In case of unfortunate death or disability of the Account holder due to an accident during the coverage period, the nominees or Account holder (as the case may be) will get a lump sum amount of Rs. 2 Lakh

• You can renew the policy every year till you reach 70 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

• Accident insurance scheme for all Indian citizens and it covers death and disability due to an accident

• No medical checkup required to join the scheme

• The yearly premium is just Rs. 20 for the coverage of Rs. 2 Lakh

• The nominees or Account holder (as the case may be) will receive the lump sum amount of Rs. 2 Lakh in case unfortunate death or disability of the Account holder due to an accident

• 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 PMSBS 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 70 years

Once you join the scheme, you need to renew your policy every year as the cover is for 1 year only. You can keep on renewing till you reach 70 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 PMSB 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 PMSB under multiple Bank accounts, your accident 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 accident insurance policy with other Insurance companies. Can I still join PMSBS?

Yes. You can join PMSB scheme.

PMSB scheme is independent of other accident insurance policies. So, you can join PMSB scheme even if you have insurance policies with other Insurance companies.

Where can I Join this Scheme?

You can join PMSB scheme at

1. Post Office

2. authorised Bank branches

When can I Join the Scheme?

This 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 full yearly premium amount of Rs. 20 for the policy period.

For example, if you join the scheme in November, then you need to pay the full year premium of Rs. 20 though the cover is from November to May only.

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 no waiting period in this scheme.

It means that the death or disability of the Account holder due to accidents is covered from day 1 of joining the scheme.

The nominees or Account holder (as the case may be) can claim accident benefits from day 1 in case of unfortunate death or disability of the Account holder due to an accident.

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 full yearly premium amount of Rs. 20 for the policy period.

Also, there will not be any waiting period for claims.

How much Premium should I Pay?

You need to pay Rs. 20 every year.

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 for auto-debit every year till the policy is active or till you reach 70 years of age.

Government of India will review the premium amount on a yearly basis based on the number of claims.

Death, Disability & 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 an accident.

Disability Benefits:

There are 2 types of benefits depending upon the amount of disability and accordingly the benefits will vary.

1) Benefit Amount Rs. 2 Lakh:

You will receive Rs. 2 Lakh in case of the following disabilitites due to an accident.

• total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes

• total and irrecoverable loss of both hands

• total and irrecoverable loss of both feet

• loss of one eye and loss of one hand

• loss of one eye and loss of one foot

2) Benefit Amount Rs. 1 Lakh:

You will receive Rs. 1 Lakh in case of the following disabilitites due to an accident.

• Total and irrecoverable loss of one eye

• Total and irrecoverable loss of one hand

• Total and irrecoverable loss of one foot

Maturity Benefits:

Since it is a pure accident 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 70 years of age.

Note:

The above mentioned benefits are applicable only during the policy coverage period or till you reach 70 years of age.

Policy Termination - When will the Policy Cover End?

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

• when you reach 70 years of age. After that, no accident cover will be provided

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

• 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 account or due to administrative issue with the Bank or Post Office, you can re-join the scheme by paying the full yearly premium.

Which Death Events are Covered in this Scheme?

This scheme covers the Account holder's death or disability due to the following accidents.

• any vehicle accidents (road, train, boat, flight)

• murder

• natural disasters like earthquake, flood, etc

• any other accidents like snake bite, falling from tree

Note:

This scheme doesn't cover suicide incidents.

NRI

NRI (Non Resident Indians) can join the scheme.

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

In case of unfortunate death or disability of the NRI, the claim benefits will be paid in Indian Currency (Rupees) only.

Who Offers and Administers this Scheme?

This scheme is offered and administered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGIC) and other General Insurance companies in partnership with Banks and Post Offices.

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