Train Ticket Insurance at Counters: 45 Paise, Pay by UPI

Train ticket insurance is no longer only for people who book on the IRCTC app. From 27 October 2026, you can ask for the same 45 paise cover when you buy a reserved ticket at a railway reservation counter, and it pays up to ₹10 lakh if a train accident leads to death or permanent total disability.

There’s one catch, and it surprises most counter buyers: you can’t pay for it in cash. Section 2 explains why, and what to keep on your phone before you join the queue.

⚡ Key takeaways

Counter (PRS) reserved tickets can now carry the optional travel insurance, from 27 October 2026, after a Supreme Court order of 6 October.
Premium: 45 paise per passenger, taxes included. Cover: ₹10 lakh for death or permanent total disability, ₹7.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, up to ₹2 lakh for hospital costs.
If you opt in, you must pay digitally. Reports say the whole fare, not just the 45 paise, has to go by UPI or card.
Give the clerk a correct mobile number for every booking. The insurer uses it to send the policy.
It’s optional. If you only carry cash, you can still book; you just won’t get the cover.

Table of Contents

What Changed for Train Ticket Insurance on 27 October

Until now, the 45 paise train ticket insurance was a checkbox on IRCTC’s website and app. If you stood in line at a station’s reservation counter, there was no such option. That mostly hurt people who book in person: older travellers, migrant workers going home for Chhath and Diwali, and families who don’t trust online payments.

The Supreme Court stepped in. On 6 October 2026, a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan, hearing a railway safety case linked to the June 2023 Odisha train accident, ordered Indian Railways to offer the cover on counter tickets too. Business Today reported that the court set 27 October as the deadline and warned that the Railway Board would be directly responsible if it wasn’t done.

Outlook Money notes the court’s reasoning. People from the poorest groups mostly buy tickets over the counter, and they’re the ones who need this protection most.

Passengers with luggage on a crowded Indian railway platform beside a train — Counter buyers can now ask for the same cover as app users. · Photo: Ethan Sarkar / Pexels

Is it compulsory?

No. Some early reports called it mandatory, but the Railway Board’s instructions, as reported by Angel One from news agency coverage, describe it as optional. Railways must offer it. You decide whether to take it.

The Catch: You Can’t Pay 45 Paise in Cash

The clerk may not mention this part. Coins of 5, 10, 20 and 25 paise are no longer legal tender, so a counter clerk can’t collect 45 paise in cash. The Railway Board’s fix, in a letter dated 24 October to zonal railways, is to collect the premium digitally.

According to Business Today’s 27 October explainer, if you opt for insurance, you’ll need to pay the entire ticket fare digitally, not just the premium. Angel One’s report only mentions the premium, so the exact rule may vary at the counter. Plan for the stricter version.

What that means in practice:

Keep a working UPI app (BHIM, PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm) or a debit card ready before you reach the window.
Check your UPI balance and daily limit if it’s a big family booking. A family AC booking of a few thousand rupees is usually fine, but don’t find out at the counter that your bank or app has a lower limit.
If you only have cash, you can still book the ticket. You just can’t add insurance to it.

💡 Pro tip

Using UPI Lite won’t help here: its per-payment limit is ₹1,000, which is less than most reserved fares. Use normal UPI with your PIN.

Also readUPI Lite Explained: Pay Up to ₹1,000 Without a PIN, Safely

How Much Cover You Get for 45 Paise

The counter version copies the online scheme. These amounts come from the scheme details reported by Business Today and Outlook Money:

What happens	Cover per passenger
Death in a train accident or untoward incident	₹10 lakh
Permanent total disability	₹10 lakh
Permanent partial disability	Up to ₹7.5 lakh
Hospital costs for injuries	Up to ₹2 lakh
Transporting mortal remains	₹10,000
Premium	45 paise, including taxes

For context, the premium was 49 paise when the scheme started in 2016 and has been 45 paise since 17 February 2024. You’d struggle to find any other ₹10 lakh accident cover at that price.

A traveller sitting with luggage on a quiet Indian railway platform — The cover applies to confirmed, RAC and partly confirmed tickets. · Photo: Arjun Jai / Pexels

Who counts as covered

Confirmed (CNF), RAC and partly confirmed tickets can take the cover. In one example given in the Railway Board’s instructions, four passengers on one PNR with one confirmed berth and three waitlisted can all be insured at 45 paise each, if each is opted in.
Older IRCTC terms, summarised by Consumer Voice, excluded children under 5, foreign citizens and suburban trains. Ask the clerk if any of these apply to you, since the counter rules haven’t been published in full.
If you cancel, 9 paise of the premium is deducted on top of normal cancellation charges.

What Train Ticket Insurance Does Not Cover

This is accident cover, not health insurance. Don’t confuse the two.

⚠️ Watch out

It pays only for injury or death from a train accident or an “untoward incident” (like a violent attack, robbery or fire) during your journey. Falling sick on the train, a heart attack, or food poisoning are not covered. Consumer Voice’s summary of the policy terms also lists self-injury, injuries while drunk, and illegally crossing tracks as exclusions.

A few more things it won’t do:

It won’t refund your fare if the train is late or cancelled.
It won’t cover lost or stolen luggage. Report theft to the GRP or RPF and keep a copy of the complaint.
It doesn’t replace your own health or term insurance. For ₹10 lakh, think of it as a small extra safety net.

How to Get It at the Counter: Step by Step

Fill the reservation form as usual. Write a mobile number that will actually be on during the trip; the policy details come by SMS.
Tell the clerk clearly: “Travel insurance chahiye, sabke liye.” If one person on a PNR opts in, older IRCTC rules applied it to everyone on that PNR.
Pay by UPI or card when asked. Don’t hand over cash for this booking.
Check the printed ticket for an insurance mention, and keep the SMS you get from the insurer.
Add a nominee using the link in the SMS or on the insurer’s website. Older IRCTC terms say that if no nominee is recorded, the claim goes to legal heirs, which can take longer.

Booking for parents who travel alone? Save the insurer’s SMS on your phone too. In an emergency, you’ll have the policy number when they might not. Our guide on phone safety settings for parents has a few more setups worth doing before a long trip.

Also readPhone Safety for Parents: 9 Settings to Fix on Your Diwali Visit

How to Claim if Something Goes Wrong

Claims go to the insurance company, not IRCTC or the station. The SMS and policy document name the insurer and its claim contact.

Based on the claim rules in the older IRCTC policy terms summarised by Consumer Voice:

File a written claim with the insurer within 4 months of the incident.
Keep the ticket or PNR, ID proof and every hospital or police paper. The insurer’s claim form lists exactly what it needs.
The insurer can ask for more proof. Payment is due within 15 days of receiving the last required document.

Be careful with anyone who calls offering to “process” the claim for a fee. A real insurer won’t ask for an OTP, a UPI PIN, or an upfront “processing charge”. If someone does, report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.

Our guide to what to do after a bank data leak covers the same fraud-call warning signs.

Our Take: Should You Pay the 45 Paise?

✅ Our verdict

Yes, every time you book a reserved ticket. It costs less than a paper cup of station chai, and it gives your family ₹10 lakh in the worst case. The only real cost is the hassle of paying digitally, so keep UPI ready. If you’re booking for parents or relatives who travel alone, opt in for them and save the policy SMS on your own phone.

Skip it only if you have no way to pay digitally. And if you usually book online, nothing changes for you: the checkbox on the IRCTC app still works the same way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is train ticket insurance available on counter tickets now?

Yes. From 27 October 2026, the optional 45 paise travel insurance is offered on reserved tickets booked at PRS counters, following a Supreme Court order of 6 October.

Can I pay the 45 paise insurance in cash?

No. Coins below 50 paise aren’t legal tender, so the Railway Board told counters to collect it digitally. Reports say you may need to pay the full fare by UPI or card if you choose insurance.

Does insurance cover unreserved or general tickets?

The new rule is for reserved tickets booked at PRS counters. Unreserved (UTS) tickets aren’t part of it, based on the reports so far.

What does train travel insurance cover?

Up to ₹10 lakh for death or permanent total disability, up to ₹7.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, up to ₹2 lakh for hospital costs and ₹10,000 for transporting mortal remains, after a train accident or untoward incident.

Can waitlisted passengers get it?

Confirmed, RAC and partly confirmed bookings are eligible. In a PNR where some passengers are waitlisted, the Railway Board’s example says they can be covered too if each opts in, but fully waitlisted tickets that don’t get confirmed don’t travel.

The Bottom Line

Train ticket insurance finally reaches the counter, and at 45 paise, it’s the easiest yes you’ll make this travel season. Just remember the catch: no cash. Put UPI on your phone before you join the queue, write a mobile number that works, and add a nominee when the SMS arrives.

Keep reading

Sources

Train Ticket Insurance at Counters Now: The 45 Paise UPI Catch