Rail passengers can opt for travel insurance from Sept

In what emerges as a business opportunity for insurance companies and a chance for the public transporter to increase earnings from fares, the Railways have decided to offer an “optional” travel insurance cover on a premium of `1 per ticket from September.

The scheme is initially being offered to passengers who purchase e-tickets from the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website. On an average, six lakh e-tickets are purchased each day.

In case most e-ticket passengers opt for the scheme, insurance companies can expect to generate annual revenues of approximately `20 crore in the initial phase. If the scheme is extended to all the 1.2 million railway passengers, the business will become more attractive. It is possible that insurance firms will have to share 20% of the premium amount with the Railways and IRCTC — likely to get a share of 10% each. “This will help the ministry and its public sector undertaking to ramp up its revenues from passenger fares,” officials said. The scheme is being implemented by IRCTC in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Royal Sundaram and Shriram General.