India's Standard Personal Accident Policy —
Saral Suraksha Bima, National

Saral Suraksha Bima (SSB) is IRDAI's mandated STANDARD personal accident insurance policy. IRDAI mandated all general and health insurance companies to offer SSB from 1 April 2021.

Before SSB, India's PA insurance market had hundreds of products with different coverages, definitions, PPD schedules, and wordings. A consumer could not meaningfully compare a "Personal Guard Policy" from Company A with an "Accident Suraksha" from Company B because the coverages were completely different.

SSB was created to:
→ Standardise PA coverage: same policy wordings, same coverage, same benefit definitions across ALL 24+ insurers
→ Allow meaningful price comparison: same coverage → compare premiums across, Bajaj, the insurer,
→ Provide a baseline, accessible PA policy at every income level
→ Ensure EVERY insurer MUST offer a PA product

the insurer's version is officially named "Saral Suraksha Bima, Probitas Insurance Brokers Ltd." with.

The key difference from the insurer's own Individual PA: SSB has standardised IRDAI-prescribed wordings, a simpler PPD schedule, a 0.2%/week TTD rate (vs the insurer PA's 1%/week capped at ₹3,000), and a far superior education grant (10% per child, no rupee cap vs the insurer PA's ₹10,000 cap).

3 Mandatory Base Covers (always in-built, no extra premium):
1. Accidental Death — 100% SI to nominee within 12 months of accident
2. Permanent Total Disablement (PTD) — 100% SI for loss of both eyes/limbs or general PTD
3. Permanent Partial Disablement (PPD) — 1%–50% SI per IRDAI body-part schedule; max 50% aggregate

3 Optional Covers (choose at inception, extra premium, ADDITIONAL to base SI):
A. Temporary Total Disablement — 0.2%/week for up to 100 weeks while unable to work
B. Hospitalisation Expenses — reimburses actual accident hospital costs up to 10% of base SI
C. Education Grant — 10% of base SI per dependent child below 25 on insured's death/PTD

My recommendation — which to add:
→ If you are salaried and have dependents: Add ALL THREE. TTD replaces income while you can't work. Hospitalisation handles medical bills. Education Grant protects your children's education.
→ If you are self-employed: TTD less relevant (no employer leave records needed for self-employed is trickier). Add Hospitalisation + Education Grant.
→ If you have dependent children below 25 in school/college: Education Grant is the best value add-on — 10% per child with no rupee cap vs the insurer PA's ₹10,000 cap.

Permanent Total Disablement (PTD) — 100% of Sum Insured:
Total and irrecoverable disability affecting the insured's entire working capacity. Specific triggers:
→ Loss of sight of both eyes (total irrecoverable)
→ Loss of both hands or both feet (physical separation or loss of use)
→ Loss of one hand + one foot
→ Loss of one eye + one hand or foot
→ General PTD: injury permanently disabling the insured from ANY employment or occupation of any description whatsoever

Permanent Partial Disablement (PPD) — 1%–50% of Sum Insured:
Partial and irrecoverable loss of a specific body part — disability is permanent but the insured can still perform some work. Payout is a percentage of SI per the IRDAI-prescribed PPD schedule.
Examples: Loss of one foot = 50% SI; Loss of index finger (3 phalanges) = 10% SI; Loss of hearing in both ears = 75% SI
Maximum aggregate PPD: 50% of base SI per policy year.

Key distinction: PTD = completely unable to work in any job; PPD = partially impaired but can still work in some capacity. PTD pays 100%; PPD pays a schedule-based % up to 50% maximum.

This is the most important SSB vs the insurer PA comparison for TTD buyers:

the insurer Individual PA (Table A): 1% of CSI per week, CAPPED at ₹3,000/week regardless of SI
At ₹10L SI: 1% × ₹10L = ₹10,000/week → but capped at ₹3,000/week
At ₹50L SI: 1% × ₹50L = ₹50,000/week → but still capped at ₹3,000/week

SSB (National): 0.2% of base SI per week, NO separate rupee cap
At ₹10L SI: 0.2% × ₹10L = ₹2,000/week (the insurer PA would give ₹3,000 — SSB loses here)
At ₹15L SI: 0.2% × ₹15L = ₹3,000/week (EQUAL — this is the crossover point)
At ₹25L SI: 0.2% × ₹25L = ₹5,000/week (SSB WINS — the insurer PA still only ₹3,000)
At ₹50L SI: 0.2% × ₹50L = ₹10,000/week (SSB wins by 3.3× over the insurer PA)

Conclusion: If your SSB SI is below ₹15L, the insurer PA TTD pays more. At ₹15L, they're equal. Above ₹15L, SSB TTD pays more per week. For any SI above ₹15L with TTD requirements, SSB is the better choice for weekly TTD compensation.

The Cumulative No-Claim Bonus (NCB) in SSB increases your Base Sum Insured by 5% for every claim-free policy year, at no increase in premium, up to a maximum of 50%.

How it accrues (IRDAI official example):
Base SI = ₹1L
Year 1 claim-free → SI = ₹1.05L
Year 2 claim-free → SI = ₹1.10L
Year 10 claim-free → SI = ₹1.50L (50% max)

For a ₹25L policy: 10 years claim-free → SI = ₹37.5L

Bonus reset on claim: If you make a claim under base covers (Death/PTD/PPD), the cumulative bonus reduces at the same rate it accrued. If your bonus had reached +30%, a claim resets it by 5% per year of claims.

Optional covers don't affect bonus: TTD, Hospitalisation, and Education Grant claims do NOT affect the cumulative bonus accrual. This is a critical advantage — you can make a TTD claim without losing your accumulated SI growth.

NO — this is one of SSB's most important features. All three optional covers are COMPLETELY ADDITIONAL to the base Sum Insured.

The base SI (for Death, PTD, PPD) is NEVER reduced by optional cover claims:
→ A TTD claim of ₹50,000 for 25 weeks does NOT reduce your ₹25L death/PTD cover
→ A hospitalisation claim of ₹80,000 does NOT reduce your ₹25L base SI
→ An education grant payment of ₹2.5L does NOT reduce the ₹25L base death benefit (education grant is additional TO the death benefit)

The three covers operate as completely independent pools:
Base SI pool: Death / PTD / PPD claims come from here
TTD pool: 0.2% × SI × weeks (separate)
Hospitalisation pool: Up to 10% of SI (separate)
Education Grant: 10% × SI per child (separate, on death/PTD trigger only)

Compare this to NYWAP where Section A (PA) and Section B (CI) share ONE pool — a CI claim reduces PA cover and vice versa. SSB has fully independent covers.

After a PPD claim, the policy is NOT automatically cancelled — it continues with a reduced available PPD limit:

PPD cap: 50% of base SI aggregate per policy year
Example: SI = ₹20L; lose one foot (50% PPD) → ₹10L paid. PPD aggregate for this policy year is now exhausted. No further PPD claims for the rest of this policy year. But Death and PTD cover continue at full SI.

At renewal: The policy renews normally. If no other base cover claim was made, cumulative bonus continues to accrue. The PPD aggregate cap resets for the new policy year.

After Death or full PTD (100% claim): Policy is cancelled. The full SI is paid. No further claims are possible.

Important: The PPD cumulative cap (50%) means if you've lost one hand (50%) in Year 1, and lose a foot in Year 2, the Year 2 foot claim (50%) would be payable in a new policy year (fresh 50% cap). But within a SINGLE policy year, total PPD across multiple injuries is capped at 50% of SI.

The disappearance clause is in-built in the SSB accidental death base cover (no extra premium required):

Trigger conditions (all must be met):
1. The insured person is MISSING — body not found
2. Missing for a period of 12 MONTHS from the date of disappearance
3. Insured was KNOWN to be in or near a VEHICLE, VESSEL, or AIRCRAFT at the time of disappearance

If all three conditions are met: it shall be PRESUMED that the insured person died due to an accident within 12 months → 100% death benefit payable to nominee

What happens if insured is found alive after benefit is paid: The benefit paid must be REFUNDED to the insurer by whoever received it. The nominee/insurer would need to settle this.

Practical examples:
→ Commercial airline disappears over ocean — body never recovered: disappearance clause triggers after 12 months
→ Ship sinks in international waters, body not recovered: triggers
→ Vehicle accident in remote mountain area, body not recovered: triggers
→ Person goes missing without any vehicle/vessel/aircraft connection: does NOT trigger (condition 3 not met)

Choose SSB (National) if:
→ You want to compare premiums across multiple insurers for the same coverage
→ You have dependent children in education — education grant 10% per child (vs the insurer PA's ₹10,000 cap)
→ Your SI is ₹15L or above and you want TTD — SSB TTD pays ₹3,000+/week vs the insurer PA's ₹3,000 max
→ You want a family plan with all members under one policy
→ Your occupation is Class III — SSB may have uniform pricing with no extra loading
→ You want hospitalisation cover limited to accident (not illness) alongside your accident cover

Choose the insurer Individual PA if:
→ You need SI above ₹1 crore
→ You are a blue-collar worker needing a granular PPD schedule (individual finger phalanges, toe benefits not in SSB's simplified schedule)
→ You want Table D (death only) at minimal premium
→ You prefer the insurer's own proprietary product

CAN YOU HOLD BOTH? YES. There is no restriction. Both policies can be in force simultaneously. Holding both maximises accident protection — the insurer PA's more granular PPD schedule complements SSB's superior education grant and potentially higher TTD. Call 022 4302 0000 to discuss the right combination for your situation.

YES — you can absolutely hold both SSB (National) and the insurer's Individual Personal Accident Policy simultaneously. There is no regulatory restriction on this.

What happens at claim time:
Each policy is an independent contract. If you suffer accidental death or disability, you can claim from BOTH policies separately:
→ SSB (National) pays its SI + optional cover benefits
→ the insurer Individual PA pays its SI + applicable benefits

For Death / PTD: Both policies pay their full SI independently. If SSB SI = ₹25L and the insurer PA SI = ₹25L, total death payout = ₹50L (from both combined).

For Temporary Disability: The SSB TTD weekly benefit and the insurer PA TTD weekly benefit can both be claimed simultaneously. However, the total TTD weekly benefit across all PA policies covering the same person may be subject to individual policy limits.

For Hospitalisation: SSB hospitalisation and any the insurer PA medical expenses extension can both be claimed — as both are based on actual expenses incurred (indemnity), you can claim the same bills from both policies up to the actual expense amount (no double recovery of profit).

The combination of SSB's superior education grant + the insurer PA's granular PPD schedule + higher combined SIs makes holding both policies an excellent strategy for comprehensive accident protection.