Fast-Claim Air Accident Insurance for Nominees
By Vinod Kumar Bansal
When tragedy strikes at 35,000 feet, few are prepared for the practical aftermath. On 12 June 2025, the nation watched in shock as an Air India Dreamliner en route from Ahmedabad to London crashed, leaving behind grieving families and unanswered questions. While emotional wounds may take years to heal, a critical financial window is rapidly closing: the time limit for nominees to file accidental death insurance claims linked to debit and credit cards used to book the flight.
Unbeknownst to many, passengers who purchased their tickets with certain debit or credit cards—particularly high-end variants—were covered under complimentary air accident insurance policies. The cover amount varies from ₹20 lakh to ₹2 crore, depending on the card type and issuer. But there’s a catch: most of these policies require the nominee to file a claim within 30 days of the death, which in this case means by 11 July 2025, although exact terms may vary slightly across banks.
An Overlooked Benefit
Card-linked air accident cover is a little-publicised but immensely valuable benefit. Banks like HDFC, SBI, ICICI, Axis, and others routinely include personal accident insurance on their premium cards, often in partnership with leading insurers. However, this coverage becomes active only if the air ticket is purchased using the card and only if the nominee files a timely claim.
Many families, still in shock and unaware of this clause, risk missing the deadline. Once that window closes, insurance companies are not legally bound to entertain the claim, leaving potentially crores of rupees unclaimed and grieving families financially unsupported.
What Nominees Must Do Immediately
If your loved one was on board the Dreamliner and you believe the ticket was purchased through a debit or credit card, take the following steps without delay:
1. Identify the Card Used
- Locate the bank statement or SMS confirming the ticket purchase.
2. Contact the Issuing Bank/Insurer
- Visit the bank’s website or customer care for claim procedures under the accidental air death cover.
3. Submit Initial Intimation Immediately
- Send a formal intimation to the insurer by email or registered post. Do this even if some documents are still pending.
4. Gather Required Documents
- Air ticket or booking confirmation
- Death certificate
- Post-mortem report
- FIR and incident report (if available)
- Proof of relationship with the deceased
- ID and bank details of the nominee
5. Submit the Full Claim File
- After initial intimation, follow up with the completed documentation as per the insurer’s checklist.
6. Track and Escalate
- Keep records of every email, acknowledgement, and submission. If no response is received within 30 days, escalate to the Insurance Ombudsman or the IRDAI grievance portal.
Role of the Government, Airlines, and Insurers
At a time of national tragedy, it is the responsibility of every stakeholder to ensure that no family is denied what is rightfully theirs due to a lack of awareness or bureaucracy. Immediate steps must include:
- Banks must proactively identify transactions related to the doomed flight and notify the cardholders’ families.
- Air India should share the passenger list with insurance companies and assist in verifying ticket purchases made through cards.
- The Government must instruct IRDAI to relax the 30-day deadline in this case as a humanitarian gesture and facilitate one-stop assistance desks in cities with affected families.
- Insurance Companies must issue public notices with clear, simple instructions on how and where to file claims.
Why These Claims Matter
Besides the mandatory compensation under the Montreal Convention (approximately ₹1.7 crore per deceased passenger), this card-linked insurance can double or even triple the financial support for affected families. In some cases, especially where the deceased was a primary earner, this could mean the difference between stability and struggle for dependents.
If even 150 passengers bought tickets using eligible cards and their nominees claim an average of ₹1 crore each, ₹150 crore or more stands to be paid out—funds that can support education, home loans, healthcare, and basic dignity for the families left behind.
Call for Broader Reform
This incident also underlines the need for deeper structural changes in how air travel insurance is handled in India:
- Default Passenger Insurance: Every ticket should come with a built-in accident cover of at least ₹50 lakh, irrespective of how it was purchased.
- Mandatory E-Nomination: Banks and airlines must collect and link nominee details during booking or card activation.
- Unified Claim Platform: A single portal to check eligibility and file claims from airlines, banks, and insurers would eliminate confusion.
- Countries like Singapore and Australia have already moved in this direction. There is no reason India cannot lead the way in ensuring air travellers’ families are protected by design, not just by chance.
Final Message: Time Is Ticking
While the pain of loss is beyond words, missing out on rightful financial compensation due to ignorance or delay is a second tragedy—one that can still be prevented. For the families of those who perished in the Dreamliner crash, the 30-day claim deadline is almost here.
Let us not add avoidable financial hardship to emotional devastation. It’s time for banks, insurers, the government, and every responsible citizen to ensure that no rightful nominee is left uninformed, unsupported, or uncompensated.
(The author is a private equity investor and a renowned financial markets expert. He is the founder of MS Partners and can be reached at [email protected])
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