Debit cards and mobile recharges offer up to Rs 10 lakh life cover

"Do you have life insurance?"

You - What a pointless question? Of course, I do!

Your friend/family/relative/colleague/acquaintance (sheepishly) - Oops! I don't.

This is where this article comes in handy. While there is no substitute to getting a proper life insurance, did you know your provident fund and debit cards also provide one? Heck, even your mobile recharge does.

If that's widened your eyes and perked up your ears, let's waste no more time.

Provident fund
Let's start here, since many salary earners have a provident fund (PF) account.

If you are contributing to the Employees' Provident Fund, your nominee or legal heir will be eligible to receive a lump sum payment of up to Rs 7 lakh in case of your untimely death.

You can get a life cover at no extra cost.

To file a claim, your nominee or legal heir will have to file the following forms:

• Form 5 IF to be submitted to the regional EPF commissioner's office
• May also need to file Form 20
• Form 10C/Form 10D to claim benefits of EPF, EPS (Employees' Pension Scheme) and EDLI (Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance) in one go.

RuPay debit cards
As of March 2023, all RuPay debit cards have an in-built life cover of up to Rs 10 lakh.

What's more, all RuPay debit cardholders (between 5 and 70 years of age) are eligible to get the life cover.

There's one condition though: you must have made a financial or non-financial transaction in the last 30 to 90 days prior to your demise.

If you satisfy the above-mentioned condition, your beneficiary will need to intimate the bank, which will then report the claim to the respective insurance provider.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
All first-time Jan Dhan account holders, who opened their account between August 15, 2014 and January 31, 2015, have an LIC cover of Rs 30,000.

You can inform your support staff about this feature as well.

Mobile recharge
Did you think we were pulling your leg?

Bharti Airtel offers life cover of up to Rs 4 lakh on recharging your number for Rs 279. It's Rs 2 lakh for a Rs 179 recharge. (No, we aren't promoting them, simply stating facts).

While you get the insurance without undergoing any medical check-up and at no extra cost, only registered users between 18 and 54 who have updated their address and nominee information are eligible.

Besides life cover, you can also receive accidental cover from some of the most unlikeliest of sources.

Debit and credit cards
All major banks offer accidental insurance for air and non-air travel. Some of the covers are as high as Rs 1.25 crore. These benefits may be offered on credit/debit cards or even bank accounts.

Government schemes
The central government as well as different state governments provide accidental covers for as less as Rs 20 per year. These may be offered to different target groups at low to no cost. To check your eligibility, all you need to do is simply search on Google -

'State Name' + Free Accident insurance (or Free life insurance)

To avail the benefits of schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), you need to get in touch with your bank and agree to an auto-debit of Rs 20 annually. Similarly, the distributors of PSU oil companies' (IndianOil, HPC & BPC) cover you for LPG-related accidents.

Travel agencies
IRCTC, India's biggest passenger carrier, covers accidental and life fatalities during travel for less than Rs 1. This is available to passengers who book e-tickets from the IRCTC website. Similarly, other flight and travel booking platforms offer third-party insurance against accidents.

To sum up, the key is to know the benefits you are entitled to. It is equally important that your loved ones, nominees or heirs are aware of them. Only then will they be able to claim life or accidental cover.

Also read: Here's how to surrender your life insurance policy