Collectors should submit reports on insurance claims settled in their districts to the government once in three months.
VIJAYAWADA: As a measure to make the settlement of YSR Bima Scheme claims easier, the State government has decided to make some changes in its implementation from July 1. As part of the initiative, the government itself will directly pay the insurance amount to the family of deceased beneficiary.
Workers of the unorganised sector in the age group of 18 to 70 years are covered under the scheme. An insurance amount of Rs 1 lakh will be paid if the beneficiary in the age group of 18 to 50 years, who is a breadwinner of the family, dies naturally. A sum of Rs 5 lakh will be paid if the beneficiary in the age group of 18 to 70 years dies in an accident under the scheme.
Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, who reviewed implementation of the YSR Bima Scheme on Wednesday, directed officials to revamp the existing guidelines of the scheme and make the settlement of insurance claims simpler and easier. As part of the changes, the insurance amount should be paid to the family of beneficiary within one month of receiving the claim. A special officer should be appointed to monitor the implementation of the scheme, he said.
Jagan also directed the officials to stand in support of farmers and fishermen’s families who lost their breadwinner by providing the financial aid without any delay. The death of livestock should also be adequately compensated. Collectors should submit reports on insurance claims settled in their districts to the government once in three months. The responsibility of screening insurance applications should be given to village and ward secretariats, he said.
The officials informed Jagan that the government is implementing the YSR Bima Scheme covering 1.4 crore ration card holders even after the Centre, which used to pay 50 per cent of the premium, withdrew from it. Now, the entire premium is being paid by the State government to provide financial security to the families of deceased beneficiaries, they said. “Even if the insurance premium is paid in full by the State government, delay in opening of bank accounts and linking the accounts with the insurance policy, has resulted in pending of a large number of applications in banks,” they said.
Even after completing the paper process, the authorities do not pay any compensation if the person dies within 45 days of taking the policy. “As many as 12,039 people had died within 45 days of taking the policy and no compensation was paid to the families of the deceased by the banks. Following the intervention of the government, Rs 254.72 crore has been paid to them,” they said.
The officials informed him that so far only 60 lakh accounts have been opened and remaining 58 lakh applications are pending in the State. With regard to claims, 6,173 applications have been received till date. Of the total, documents pertaining to 2,839 claims have been uploaded and 152 families have received the claim settlement, they said.
CM pats finance dept
The Chief Minister congratulated the Finance Department officials for their hard work in effective implementation of various welfare schemes in the State even during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government has provided Rs 95,000 crore to beneficiaries of various schemes through DBT, and spent Rs 1.35 lakh crore on welfare schemes without giving any scope for irregularities, Jagan said.
Insurance cover for workers
Workers of unorganised sector in the age group of 18 to 70 years are covered under the YSR Bima Scheme. A sum of Rs 1 lakh will be paid to the family of beneficiary if he dies naturally. In case of accidental death, the family will get Rs 5 lakh
