Very few bank account holders know that there are many banks in India which offer a complimentary life insurance cover to their debit card holders. However, this comes with certain conditions and unless the debit card holder fulfils them the life insurance cover will not work. One of the conditions is that the debit card holder should have made at least one specific type of transaction during a specified time period. Knowing this is critical to make yourself eligible for this insurance cover.
The practice of offering complimentary life insurance cover with debit card is common as it is offered in the form of a group life insurance product. Many prominent banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) India, etc offer a complimentary insurance policy on debit cards.
“Insurance Policies covering debit card usage are usually in the nature of group insurance policy and provide coverage for personal accident, purchase protection, air accident, card fraud, etc. Since these are Group Policies, independent policy numbers at a card holder level are not available,” says Puneet Kapoor, President-Products, Alternate Channels and Customer Experience Delivery, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Making claim is not simple without a policy number
The next question which arises is how nominees of the debit card holder can file an insurance claim in the unfortunate event of the cardholder’s death. This is because unlike a traditional term life insurance or others a policy number is not issued by the bank.
Given below is a table showing the variants of debit cards of some banks which have an free insurance cover.
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Bank Name | Debit card variant | Annual Fees | Insurance cover limit |
State Bank of India | Gold | Rs 175 | Rs 4 lakh (death on air), Rs 2 lakh (non-air) |
Platinum | Rs 250 | Rs 10 lakh (death on air), Rs 5 lakh (non-air) | |
Pride | Rs 350 | Rs 4 lakh (death on air), Rs 2 lakh (non-air) | |
Premium | Rs 350 | Rs 10 lakh (death on air), Rs 5 lakh (non-air) | |
Insurance cover terms: Any transaction on ATM/Point of Sale (POS)/eCommerce website during the last 90 days | |||
HDFC Bank | Times Point | Rs 650 | Rs 5 lakh (Air/Rail/Road) and Rs 1 crore (international air travel) |
Millennia | Rs 500 | Same as above | |
RuPay premium | Rs 200 | Same as above | |
Insurance cover terms: One POS or online shopping transaction in last 30 days | |||
ICICI Bank | Regular | Rs 150 | Rs 50,000 (air) |
Silver | Rs 150 | Rs 50,000 (air) | |
Gold | Nil | Rs 5 lakh (non air) and Rs 30 lakh (air) | |
Insurance cover terms: Must have an active account | |||
Kotak Mahindra Bank | Classic | Rs 259 | Rs 2 lakh* |
Gold | Rs 500 | Rs 15 lakh (air) and Rs 5 lakh (non-air)** | |
Platinum | Rs 750 | Rs 50 lakh (air) and Rs 5 lakh (non-air)** | |
Insurance cover terms: * Min of 2 transactions (POS/e-Commerce) of Rs 500 each in the last 30 days | |||
**Min of 6 transactions (POS/e-commerce) of Rs 500 each in the last 60 days | |||
DBS India | Infinite | nil | Rs 1 crore (air) and Rs 5 lakh (non-air) |
Insurance cover terms: One transaction in last 90 days |
Source: Respective bank’s website
Critical condition that must be fulfilled to be eligible for insurance on debit card
One of the most common critical conditions is that a particular type of transaction must be done within specified number of days of the eventuality. For instance, Kotak Mahindra’s Gold and Platinum debit card holders must conduct a minimum of 6 point-of-sale (POS) or e-commerce transactions of Rs 500 each in the last 60 days. For DBS Bank Infinite debit card holders, the requirement is to conduct at least one POS or e-commerce transaction in the last 90 days. For HDFC Bank debit card customers it is at least one POS or payment gateway transaction in the last 30 days.If you have a debit card, you must first check whether it has a tied life insurance cover with it. You should also figure out what is the critical condition and corresponding time limit. This will help you ensure that you keep your free life insurance cover alive by just fulfilling these conditions. For instance, you can make sure that you pay a particular monthly utility bill or buy fuel for your car each month using your debit card.
How to make an insurance claim on debit card
Depending upon the bank’s terms and conditions, the nominee or the claimant of the policyholder should approach the bank within a specified time period with certain documents. “Ideally the claim should be filed within 60 days of the incident, however different banks may have different terms,” says Kapoor.
Some banks also have the facility to electronically submit these documents. “In the unfortunate event of the cardholder’s death, the nominee is required to submit the claim form, the customer’s death certificate, certain documents and the KYC details of the nominee to claim the personal accident insurance. These documents can be submitted at the bank branch or by providing an intimation to the call centre and submitting the required documents via email,” says Prashant Joshi – MD and Head – Consumer Banking Group, DBS Bank India.
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Documents required to make an insurance claim on debit card
Here’s a list of documents that are required to file an insurance claim on debit cards (the list is not exhaustive):
- Contact details of the nominee including address,
- A duly filled up insurance claim form,
- Original death certificate,
- Complete postmortem report,
- FIR or Panchnama or inquest Panchnama (Only for accident cases). Further in accident cases, spot panchnama along with photo of the accident spot and the vehicle involved is also required,
- If the incident is reported to the local media, then newspaper cuttings of the same must be given,
- If the cardholder has died while taking the treatment after the incident, then hospitalisation papers and admission summary must be given,
- Salary slips or type of business,
- Driving licence of the deceased cardholder if the deceased was driving,
“If the documents are in vernacular language, then translation of documents must be made and also notarised. In case the cardholder did not give a nominee for the insurance, then a legal heir certificate is required to be submitted to the bank,” says Kapoor.
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