The Life Insurance of India or LIC said it will expedite claim settlements to provide financial relief to those affected in the tragic train accident in Odisha’s Balasore on Friday evening.
Expressing grief for the victims and their families, chairperson of LIC Siddhartha Mohanty announced many concessions to mitigate the hardships of the claimants of LIC policies and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana.
“In lieu of registered death certificates, list of casualties published by Railway Authorities, Police or any State or Central Government Authorities will be accepted as proof of death. Special Help Desk has been set up at Divisional and Branch level to respond to claim-related queries and for providing assistance to claimants,” Mohanty said in a statement.
All efforts will be taken to ensure that the claimants are reached out and claims are settled expeditiously to the affected families, the statement added.
For further assistance, claimants may contact their nearest branch, division or customer zones, the LIC said. “The claimants may also call at our call centre – 02268276827,” it added.
Odisha train accident: Toll rises to 288
The death toll in the triple train accident rose to 288 even as work to remove mangled coaches and repair tracks at the site started in full swing, a railway official said.
Three trains — 12841 Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, 12864 Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train — were involved in the accident, one of the worst railway tragedies in the country.
Citing reports available till late afternoon Saturday, the official said 288 people were killed in the accident.
“A total of 1,175 people were admitted to hospitals, including private establishments, and of them, 793 were discharged while 382 are undergoing treatment and barring two who are critical, the condition of the remaining is stated to be stable,” he said.
The two express trains were carrying more than 2,200 passengers with reserved tickets, he added.
