PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): ₹20/Year Accident Insurance Explained

For the price of a cup of tea, the Indian government will insure you against accidental death or disability for a full year with PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) was launched on May 9, 2015, and is administered by the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance.

It’s one of three social security schemes the government rolled out that year, alongside PMJJBY (life insurance) and Atal Pension Yojana. The premium started at ₹12/year at launch. The government raised it to ₹20/year from June 1, 2022, the first revision in seven years, citing a rising claims burden on insurers (Ministry of Finance, 2022). Even at ₹20, few insurance products anywhere match the price.

Key Takeaways

• Premium: ₹20/year, auto-debited from your bank account
• Cover: ₹2 lakh for death or total disability, ₹1 lakh for partial disability
• Eligibility: Age 18–70 with a savings bank or post office account
• Coverage runs June 1 to May 31 every year, renewed automatically
• Apply through your bank branch, net banking, or the jansuraksha.gov.in portal

What Does PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) Cover?

PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) pays ₹2 lakh to the nominee on accidental death. The same amount goes to the insured person for total and irrecoverable loss of both eyes, both hands, or both feet. Partial disability, meaning the loss of one eye, one hand, or one foot, pays ₹1 lakh.

Car crashes and falls aren’t the only qualifying events. Natural calamities count as accidents too, so death or disability from floods, earthquakes, or similar events is covered under the same terms. The scheme draws one firm line: suicide is excluded, while death caused by murder is covered.

That’s a fairly generous scope for ₹20. Compare it to PMJJBY, the government’s companion life insurance scheme: that one costs ₹436 a year, covers death from any cause, and caps out at 50 for new entrants rather than 70.

There’s also no rule against holding PMSBY alongside a private accident policy. At ₹20/year, it works as a low-cost supplementary layer rather than a replacement, and the payout runs through your existing bank relationship rather than a separate insurer.

Who Is Eligible For PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)?

Eligibility is broad. Anyone aged 18 to 70 with a savings bank account qualifies. You don’t need to prove income, occupation, or health status the way most private accident policies demand, and there’s no medical checkup, no paperwork beyond a consent form.

A few practical wrinkles worth knowing before you enroll:

• Joint accounts: All holders of a joint account can join, as long as each person meets the eligibility criteria and pays their own ₹20 premium separately.
• One account rule: You can only enroll through one bank account. If you accidentally sign up through two accounts, only one claim will be honored.
• Institutional accounts: All bank account holders other than institutional account holders are eligible for subscribing to PMSBY.
• NRIs: Any NRI with an eligible Indian bank account can purchase PMSBY cover through that account, subject to the scheme’s terms. If a claim arises, the payout goes to the beneficiary or nominee only in Indian currency.

India now has 58.63 crore Jan Dhan accounts, with deposits exceeding ₹3.08 lakh crore as of July 1, 2026 (Finance Ministry, Rajya Sabha reply). Most of those account holders had never touched an insurance product before PMSBY existed.

How The Premium and Renewal Work For PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)

PMSBY isn’t a one-time purchase. The ₹20 premium is deducted from your bank or post office account through auto-debit, based on the consent you give at enrollment. That consent form is what authorizes the bank to pull ₹20 once a year rather than asking you to pay manually.

The policy year runs from June 1 to May 31, and the auto-debit typically happens on or before June 1, renewing the cover annually. If your account has insufficient balance on that date, the cover for that year gets discontinued.

Keep at least ₹20-30 in your linked account in the last week of May, every year.

How to Apply for PMSBY

Enrollment takes a few minutes if you already have a bank account.

1. Check if you already have it. Some banks auto-enroll customers who opted in during Jan Dhan account opening drives. Log into net banking or ask your branch first.
2. Get the form. Download the PMSBY consent-cum-declaration form from your bank’s website or from jansuraksha.gov.in, in English or your preferred regional language.
3. Fill in your details. Name, account number, Aadhaar (if linked), nominee details, and your consent for the ₹20 auto-debit.
4. Submit at your branch, or apply online. Most major banks, including SBI, HDFC, ICICI, and Bank of Baroda, let you enroll directly through net banking or their mobile app under “Insurance” or “Social Security Schemes.”
5. Confirm enrollment. You’ll typically get an SMS or passbook entry confirming the ₹20 debit and your policy start date.
6. Note your nominee. Make sure the nominee’s name and details are accurate. This person receives the ₹2 lakh payout, and mismatched details cause most claim delays.

If a claim arises, the nominee, or the insured person for a disability claim, submits a claim form at the enrolling bank branch, along with a death or disability certificate and the FIR or hospital records establishing the accident. The bank verifies the documents, forwards the claim to the insurer, and the payout lands in the bank account on file.

Sources

• Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance – PMSBY official page: https://financialservices.gov.in/pradhan-mantri-suraksha-bima-yojana-pmsby
• Jan Suraksha portal (official PMSBY enrollment site): https://www.jansuraksha.gov.in
• State Bank of India – FAQs on PMSBY (PDF): https://sbi.bank.in/documents/14463/22726/090721-PMSBY+FAQs.pdf
• Indian Overseas Bank – FAQ on PMSBY: https://www.iob.bank.in/en/faq-on-pmsby
• Ministry of Finance, via ETV Bharat – premium revised from ₹12 to ₹20, effective June 1, 2022: https://www.etvbharat.com/english/business/top-news/govt-raises-premium-for-flagship-insurance-schemes-pmjjby-pmsby/na20220601093833159159667

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