Insurance card launched for Indian air passengers

An air travel insurance facility through a membership card for commercial passengers in India has been launched by the air travellers body Air Passengers Association of India," APAI said on Thursday.

The coverage offered by the 'Flysecure' card includes for loss or damage to luggage and for other possible mishaps situations during the travel, such as medical reimbursement, theft of identity, wallet loss and burglary at home while travelling, the association said in a release here. APAI said it has tied-up with insurance company Tata-AIG and US-based company 'Refundme' for the cards.

Although the APAI does not mention it, the insurance coverage is not a typical "travel insurance" which covers a passenger from the time he or she leaves on the journey to when the return is completed. The medical reimbursement, under the APAI card, would only be available if it's reported to the medical authorities at the airport, according to details given by the Tata-AIG policy on the APAI site.

The card, which has a validity of one year covering unlimited domestic and international travel and available for Indians between the ages of 18 and 70 years, will provide three kinds of coverage to air passengers -- silver, gold and platinum.

Silver card passengers will have to pay Rs 1,500 per year, while for gold and platinum, the fees would be Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively.

"Flysecure will be a game changer in the Indian aviation industry. We aim to rope in one million members over the next few years," APAI National President Sudhakara Reddy said in a statement.

"For this, we will partner with travel related organizations like tour operator associations, hotelier associations and those of travel agents," he added.

--IANS

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