In a unique move, the ministry of road transport & highways has for the first time ever, tied up with IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance and ICICI Lombard to offer cashless insurance to accident victims on the Jaipur-Delhi, Ranchi-Jamshedpur or Vadodra-Mumbai highways.
The insurers have tied up with hospitals and ambulance service providers close to these highways to provide emergency ambulance services to provide effective medical aid to accident victims. As part of the cover, the insurers will pay for hospitalization expenses not exceeding Rs. 30,000, the premium for which would be borne by the transportation ministry.
ICICI Lombard is the insurer for the Jaipur-Delhi stretch, while IFFCO-Tokio provides cover on the Vadodara-Mumbai route.
Commuters on these routes have expressed delight over the government’s decision to provide insurance cover. Aman, a regular commuter on the Vadodra-Mumbai, told insurance club, “Although the insureds cover could have been more than Rs 30,000, but it’s good to know that the government is trying to be innovative and set-up mechanisms to help accident victims by ensuring them”.
The move assumes significance because nearly 5 lakh car accidents are reported every year, of which 1.40 lakh are fatal. The Nitin Gadkari-led ministry of road transport & highways is testing waters and has launched the scheme on the three highways as a pilot project before launching the scheme across India.
