In light of the recent LPG cylinder mishap cases, it is important for consumers to know about the insurance cover they are entitled to. Oil marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, take comprehensive insurance policies under the ‘Public Liability Policy for Oil Industries’ to provide speedy relief to the affected persons in case of LPG cylinder-related accidents.

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The insurance policy covers all LPG consumers registered with the respective OMCs.

Details of the insurance and cover

The Public Liability Insurance Policy covers only the losses arising out of accidents where LPG is the primary cause of the fire and not the incidents where the fire was caused by other sources.

The coverage is not provided for cases where the primary cause of the fire is anything other than the LPG or in cases where the LPG cylinders get engulfed in fire caused by other sources and subsequently burst.

As per the information given by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2019, the policy provides the following coverage.

A personal accident cover of Rs 6,00,000 per person per incident in case of death is provided under the policy.

The policy covers medical expenses to a maximum of Rs 30 lakh per LPG cylinder accident and a maximum cover of Rs 2,00,000 per person. Rs 25,000 is provided towards immediate medical expenses per person.

In case of property damage at the authorised customer’s registered premises, the policy covers a maximum of Rs 2,00,000 per event.

Here’s how to file a claim in case of an incident

In case of an accident, the registered customer must immediately inform the distributor in writing. The distributor then passes the information to the concerned OMC and the insurance company.

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Assistance is then offered by the OMCs to the customer after completion of the formalities of insurance claims and customers don’t need to apply to the insurance company or contact it directly.

Apart from the OMC's insurance policy, all LPG distributors also have a Third Party Liability Insurance that covers losses in the event of an LPG accident.

In case of injuries caused by an LPG cylinder mishap, customers need to submit original medical bills, doctors' prescriptions in original, hospital discharge card in original and any other documents related to the hospitalisation.

In case of death due to an LPG mishap, customers or next of kin of the deceased are required to submit the originals of the death certificate(s) and post-mortem report(s)/coroner’s report/inquest report, as applicable, to the oil company.

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In case of property damage at customers’ registered premises, the insurance company sends their surveyor to assess the loss and provide compensation.

All insurance claims are settled based on the merit of each case and the insurance company takes decisions regarding the settlement of the claim as per the provisions of the policy.