Govt’s flagship insurance schemes find many takers

In 7 years, PMJJBY subscription rises to 128 mn, PMSBY 284 mn users

The Centre’s flagship insurance schemes — Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) — have seen enrolments rise to 128 million and 284 million, respectively, in seven years of inception.

Atal Pension scheme, which provides a subscriber aged 18-40 years with a guaranteed pension of ~1,000 to ~5,000 per month after 60 years of age, has seen subscribers increase to 40 million in the last seven years.

All the three social security schemes were launched by the government on May 9, 2015.

PMJJBY provides life insurance cover worth ~2 lakh at ~330 per annum to all account holders aged between 18 and 50 years. It has provided claims worth ~11,522 crore to families of 5,76,121 persons.

Nearly 50 per cent of claims were paid out for Covid deaths, the ministry of finance said in a statement.

Changes introduced by the government in the claim settlement process have led to quicker and easier settlement of claims during the pandemic, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, or April 1, 2020, up to February 23, 2022, about 210,000 claims amounting to ~4,194 crore were paid with a settlement rate of 99.72 per cent.

For PMSBY — that provides accident cover of ~2 lakh at ~12 per annum to account holders aged 18-70 years — about ~1,930 crore has been paid towards 97,227 claims in seven years, the finance ministry said.

“The three Jan Suraksha schemes have brought insurance and pension within the reach of the common man. These low-cost insurance schemes and the guaranteed pension scheme are ensuring that financial security, which was available to a select few earlier, is now reaching the last person of the society,” Sitharaman added.