Michael D'Souza, 56, was on his motorcycle when his vehicle skidded in the rain, and he was hospitalised. Unfortunately, he lost his life. His wife, Mary, was going through the procedure of getting the death certificate when a doctor at the hospital asked her if she had also filed a claim for the accident insurance cover on Michael's debit card. Mary was unaware of the benefit. When she inquired with Michael’s bank, she realised that he was insured for Rs 10 lakh under a personal accident insurance cover, thanks to his debit card usage. Mary claimed the same and received the amount.
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Personal accident insurance is one of the least-known facts about debit and credit cards. Almost all these cards come with personal accident insurance covering the cardholder in case of an untimely injury or death due to an accident.
The accident cover on the cards varies depending on the issuing bank. In the case of some credit cards, it may be certain times your credit card limit. While in other cases it may be fixed irrespective of the limit. In the case of debit cards, too, the cover is often fixed.
The cover may start as low as Rs 50,000 and go all the way to Rs 10 lakh for personal accident cover. Some cards also offer air accident insurance if the ticket for the flight was booked via that card. In the case of air accident insurance, the cover could be as high as Rs 1 crore.
In the case of Michael’s debit card, the accident cover was Rs 10 lakh, which his wife was able to claim.
While claiming personal accident insurance, do keep in mind that some banks require credit/debit cardholders to use their card for a POS (Point of Sales) transaction at least once within the 90 days preceding the date of accident. Each bank has different eligibility criteria, so you would do well to check with your bank.
Documents that need to be submitted to claim personal accident insurance:
Finally, one point to keep in mind is that the insurance only comes into effect if the individual has died due to an accident and provided the deceased was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.
Know which Axis Bank Debit cards come with personal accident insurance cover and which Axis Bank credit cards come with an air accident cover, visit us online or speak to your relationship manager.
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