New Delhi: The government has asked private sector banks to increase customer enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), particularly targeting lenders that have significantly lagged their annual goals, as it seeks to widen accident insurance coverage amid rising road fatalities, according to two people aware of the matter.
The finance ministry has asked these lenders to step up outreach, improve enrolment efforts, and use both branch and digital channels to boost participation in the scheme, which offers low-cost accident insurance to vulnerable sections and supports the government’s broader financial inclusion push after the rollout of Jan Dhan accounts, they said, requesting anonymity.
According to data reviewed by Mint, performance of private sector banks varies widely, with IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank being the worst performers. While IndusInd Bank enrolled only 270,000 customers in FY26 against a target of 800,000, Yes Bank reported 130,000 enrolments against a target of 430,000.
In comparison, HDFC Bank surpassed its annual enrolment target of 27.7 lakh accounts in the year ended 31 March, onboarding 29.4 lakh customers. IDBI Bank also exceeded its target, recording 6.8 lakh enrolments against a goal of 6.5 lakh. Among major private lenders, ICICI Bank achieved 19.3 lakh enrolments against a target of 20.9 lakh.
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015, the PMSBY offers accidental death and full disability cover of ₹2 lakh and partial disability cover of ₹1 lakh at a nominal annual premium of ₹20, automatically debited from a subscriber's bank account. The scheme has assumed greater significance amid rising accident-related fatalities and disabilities across the country. According to the latest road ministry data, India recorded around 488,000 road accidents in 2024, resulting in over 177,000 deaths—the highest globally.
Essential for social security
"The government considers wider PMSBY coverage essential for extending social security benefits to millions of households, particularly at a time when accident-related deaths and disabilities continue to impose a significant financial burden on families across the country," said the first of the two persons cited earlier.
Similarly, Axis Bank enrolled 15.4 lakh customers under the scheme against a target of 16.7 lakh. Kotak Mahindra Bank reached 7.3 lakh enrolments against a target of 8 lakh. Also, IDFC First Bank recorded 3.9 lakh enrolments against a goal of 4 lakh.
“PMSBY enrolments reflect actual financial inclusion on ground as the enrolment requires insurance coverage through premium debit in the Jan Dhan accounts - reflecting actual usage of opened accounts. This push not only will drive financial inclusion in the real sense but also provide social security in the form of accidental and disability insurance covers," said Vivek Iyer, partner - Grant Thornton Bharat.
Emails sent to the finance ministry, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), and the private banks mentioned above remained unanswered till press time.
Only facilitators
To be sure, banks act only as facilitators under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. The accident insurance cover is provided by partner insurers, typically state-run general insurance companies, while banks enrol customers by linking the scheme to their savings accounts with consent.
India's insurance sector continued its growth momentum in 2024–25, consolidating its position as the tenth largest insurance market globally by nominal premium volumes, with a market share of 1.8%, according to a report by the Switzerland-based reinsurance firm Swiss Re. Insurance penetration stood at 3.7%, with life insurance at 2.7% and non-life at 1%.
The insurance sector issued 41.84 crore policies, collected premiums of ₹11.93 trillion, paid claims of ₹8.36 trillion, and reported assets under management of ₹74.44 trillion in FY 2024-25, according to the government, reflecting the scale and growing activity in the sector.
The increasing role of insurance is also reflected in household financial assets - total value of financial assets held by households, including savings, investments and entitlements. The share of insurance and pension funds in household financial assets also rose from 28.6% in FY 2018-19 to 29.6% in FY 2024-25, reflecting growing financial awareness among households.