LIC death claim settlement: LIC announces relaxations for victims of Odisha train accident

To mitigate hardship of claimants, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced relaxations for victims of the Balasore train tragedy and will speed up claim settlements in order to provide financial relief. To help affected families, LIC chairman announced many concessions to mitigate the hardships of the claimants of LIC Policies and also of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.


LIC in an official press release stated: “LIC Of India is deeply saddened by the tragic train accident in Balasore, Odisha on 02.06.2023. LIC Of India is committed to supporting those affected and will expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief. Shri Siddhartha Mohanty, Chairperson LIC expressed grief said that our hearts go out to the victims and their families. "


According to reports, the accident claimed at least 288 lives and injured over 1,000 after 21 coaches of Coromandel Express and Yesvantpur Express derailed at Bahanaga in Odisha's Balasore district. This has been one the deadliest train tragedies in the nation in more than two decades.

Eased Proof of death certificate
The list of casualties issued by the railway authorities, the police, or any State or Central Government Authorities shall be recognised as proof of death in lieu of registered death certificates, stated the LIC press release.

Help desk
To answer questions about claims and help claimants, a special help desk has been established at the divisional and branch levels.

Assistance for claimants
For further assistance the claimants may contact nearest Branch/Division/Customer Zones.
The claimants may also call at LIC call centre - 02268276827.

LIC further stated that, “all efforts will be taken to ensure that the claimants are reached out and claims are settled expeditiously to the affected families.”

Basic documents required for death claim settlement

• Mandatory documents required
• Original policy documents
• Original/attested copy of death certificate issued by local municipal authority
• Death claim application form (Form A)
• NEFT mandate form attested by bank authorities along with a cancelled cheque or bank account passbook
• Nominee's photo identity proof such as copy of Passport, PAN card, Voter identity card, Aadhar (UID) card, etc.

What IRDAI has said
Insurance companies have been told to carry out 'suo motu settlement' of claims for the victims of the Odisha train collision, which could go down as one of the worst train accidents in the country, according to an Economic Times news report. The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (Irdai), has asked all insurers to immediately contact the district administration or railways authorities for the list of those who have either lost their lives or have been injured.

"We would check the passenger list, take feedback from railways, and settle the claim as soon as possible without asking for some of the corroborating documents that are normally collected in case of regular claim settlement. If the Railway authorities say that a traveller is no more, we would go by that report instead of waiting for the most mortem report that is taken in accidental deaths," an insurance industry person told ET.