Do you know that as an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) consumer, you can claim insurance coverage? Are you aware of your LPG Insurance Policy? LPG consumers are protected for accidental deaths and injuries in case the gas cylinders burst.
Some newspapers have carried articles on this topic(as below), and of late these reports are being widely circulated on Social media platforms (Facebook, Whatsapp etc.,).
- Lokmat Times .
- Deccan Chronicle Article.
- Daily Bhaskar
As per the above media reports, LPG Consumers can claim insurance coverage of up to Rs 40 Lakh, in case of any accidents. This is partly true. LPG accident victims are covered for death and accident, but the insurance coverage is not Rs 40 Lakh, as reported. Also, the oil marketing companies do not take any special insurance policy or coverage for individual LPG consumers.
Both, the LPG companies (oil companies) and the LPG Distributors (Gas agencies) take Third Party Liability Insurance. No premium is collected from the LPG customer. The LPG accident victims can claim insurance from the company and also from his/her local Gas Agency (distributor).
This third party liability policy (public liability policy) provides personal accident cover, reimburses medical expenses and covers property damage at authorized customer’s registered premises. The sum assured given to the accident victims is based on per event (accident) and per person (victim).
I did a little bit of research and found the copy of ‘Public Liability Policy’ taken by Indian Oil (Indane Gas), Bharat Petroleum (Bharat Gas) and Hindustan Petroleum (HP Gas) companies. These companies have taken the insurance policy from United Insurance Company Ltd.,
Below are the insurance coverage details;
- Personal Accident cover – Rs 5 Lakh Per Person Per Event.
- Medical Expenses Max cover – Rs 15 Lakh Per Event.
- Property Damage cover – Rs 1 Lakh Per Event
The maximum ‘limit of liability‘ is as follows;
In addition to the above insurance, the LPG distributors also have third party liability insurance to cover losses, in the event of an LPG accident . I have tried to get the ‘third party insurance cover’ details from my distributor, but without much success. You may also try to get the details from your respective cooking gas distributor. If you are able to source some information, do share the details.
How to claim the insurance in case of an accident?
Procedure to be followed by the LPG customers..
- In case of the unfortunate event of an accident, the LPG customer must immediately inform the distributor in writing. The distributor then informs the concerned oil company and the insurance company about the same.
- Customers are not required to apply to Insurance Company or to contact them directly
- Customers are required to submit to the Oil Company the originals of Death Certificate(s) and Post-Mortem report(s) /Coroners report/Inquest report, as applicable, in case of deaths.
- Customers are required to submit, Original Medical Bills, Doctors’ Prescriptions in original supporting the purchase of the medicines, Discharge Card in original and any other documents related to the hospitalization in case of injuries.
- In case of property damage at customers’ registered premises, the Insurance Co. appoints their Surveyor to assess the loss.
- Your local distributor has to assist you in completing the formalities of an insurance claim.
- To ensure that your claim is not rejected, you should use ISI-mark accessories (such as lighter and gas pipe). You should also ask your gas dealer to carry out maintenance checks at regular intervals.
Every year hundreds of LPG cylinder related accidents are reported. Oil marketing companies and Distributors pay crores of rupees as Insurance premiums. But due to lack of awareness about the LPG insurance policy, not many insurance claims happen.
Actually, Gas Agencies are supposed to display information about the LPG insurance policy on their notice boards. They should inform customers about the insurance cover. But no such measures are being taken.
So, share this information with your friends. Spread the word.
(References : mylpg.in & hindustanpetroleum.com)
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