Railway passengers from next month, booking tickets through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, (IRCTC) website can avail a travel accident cover of Rs. 10 lakh at a premium of one rupee.

               IRCTC Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.K. Manocha said that the insurance cover is besides the compensation given by the railways in case of accidents to valid ticket holders.

• The insurance will provide coverage against death, injury and disabilities caused due to accidents. He said the insurance offer is under integration process and it will be operationalised from September. About five lakh tickets are at present booked online through IRCTC.

• “We have selected three insurers – Shriram General, Royal Sundaram and ICICI Lombard – which will provide the cover. A total of 19 insurance companies were short-listed for the contract,” Manocha said.

• The three companies selected will get the insurance policy on a rotation basis from an automated system. IRCTC has engaged the providers for a period of one year, with the provision of extending the contract on a performance basis..

• Train accident and untoward incident cases will be as per definition under Sections 123 read with Sections 124 and 124A of the Railways Act, 1989.

• The insurance cover is uniform for all classes and the option available through a checkbox at the time of e-ticket booking. The premium amount will be automatically added to the ticket fare if the passenger opts for insurance.

Users wanting coverage for children below five years of age will need to furnish details of the child at the time of booking and accordingly travel insurance premium will be added to the total amount payable.