Odisha Train Accident: EPFO relaxes norms for EDLI, pension claim, suggests alternatives to death certificate

The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) relaxed the requirement of a death certificate for EDLI and pension claims for deceased members who lost their lives in the train accident in Balasore, Odisha. It has done this to alleviate the hardship faced by the deceased's family and beneficiaries and to expedite claim settlement.


According to the press release dated June 8, 2023, “Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) to settle claims in cases of death due to Industrial Accidents shall be followed. Special cell be formed to monitor all cases till settlement of claims.”

What can be considered as death certificate

According to the EPFO circular, the documents provided by the Indian Railways/ Police or District Authorities to such family members may also be allowed as proof of death.
The Zonal Office will keep up-to-date records of casualties held by the Railway Authorities, Police, or Government Authorities, and will take the necessary steps to try to identify the members using information like the Aadhaar number, PAN, mobile number used to book tickets, or any employment-related documents, etc, as per the instructions from EPFO.

According to a Times of India (TOI) news report, the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) Bhubaneswar branch on Friday released provident fund, pension, and insurance benefits to the family of Jitendra Sahoo, an employee of a private company in Bhubaneswar who died in the Balasore train tragedy and has coverage under the EPF.

Further it stated, that from the mobile numbers and Aadhar details, the UAN and PF account numbers of the deceased were ascertained.

The Odisha train accident

On June 2, 2023, one of India's deadliest train disasters in decades occurred near Balasore in the eastern state of Odisha. At least 275 people were killed and over 1000 were injured in the triple train crash.

What insurers are doing
Even though the death toll is still climbing, numerous insurance firms have established various programs to aid the impacted families by easing claim norms.

Insurers such as LIC, HDFC Life, SBI Life, Aegon have relaxed the claim norms for the deceased families.

IRDAI
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) stated that insurance companies must abide by rules set forth by when resolving insurance claims for those hurt in the recent train disaster tragedy in Balasore, Odisha. IT has asked insurer to set up Dedicated help line, Special camps and Display information on website to help beneficiary families.

LIC
In order to provide financial comfort, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) offered relaxations for those affected by the Balasore railway tragedy and will expedite claim settlements. The LIC Chairman made a number of concessions to ease the burdens placed on LIC Policy and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana claimants in order to assist the impacted families.

SBI LIfe
In order to provide immediate financial relief to the policyholders affected by the train accident and to ensure that their families receive the necessary support, SBI Life acted swiftly and put several measures into place to speed up the claim settlement process and to simplify the documentation requirements. On June 5, 2023, according SBI Life press release.