Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) Eligibility and Benefits

As the name suggests, the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) has been specifically designed for the Aam Aadmi or common man of the nation. This means that the scheme particularly caters to the financial needs of the rural population which currently forms a large section of Indian society. This low-income class sometimes lives below the poverty line and is therefore unable to save any money to meet any future contingencies. Schemes like AABY come forward to help such individuals take care of the financial requirements of themselves and their families.

What is Aam Aadmi Bima Policy?

As mentioned earlier, AABY’s full form is Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, a savings scheme for the common man of Indian society. The Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana was launched on 2 October, 2007 by the Indian government as a social security scheme for the low-income households of the country. This includes drivers, fishermen, cobblers, and other such daily-wage workers who do not have a fixed monthly income and are therefore unable to save any money for the future.

As such, these people also tend to be the worst affected in case of unplanned unfortunate events such as accidental disability or death. With the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana policy, these low-income individuals and households can be greatly benefited.

What is the Eligibility Criteria of Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana?

In order to avail the benefits under the Social Security Scheme called AABY, the following criteria must be satisfied. Note that every citizen of India is not eligible to apply for the scheme.

• The person applying for the AABY scheme must be included in the list of BPL or Below Poverty Line families.
• Those who are from a rural household without any land are eligible to apply for the scheme benefits.
• The individuals above should be between the age bracket of 18 and 59 years, i.e., lower than 60 years of age.
• Only one member per family is eligible for coverage under the scheme. That member should also be the only bread earner for their family.

How to Apply for Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana?

AABY is a nation-wide scheme, meaning the person interested to apply for the scheme is required to visit an appointed Nodal agency for the enrollment process. A Nodal agency refers to an institutional arrangement by the Central or State Governments or the Union Territory of India.

Note: The application process for AABY is not the same as any other insurance plan or scheme.

It is absolutely essential to mention the name of the nominee during the enrollment process for the plan. In the absence of the nominee name, their family members would not be considered eligible to avail the plan benefits during claim-filing.

What are the Documents Required for Enrollment Under AABY?

During the application process, you would be required to submit the following documents:

• Duly-filled out application form. The Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana application form PDF can easily be downloaded from the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana official website for the respective state where you reside.
• The income certificate of the applicant.
• An application form of the nominee.
• A proof of ID for the applicant.
• A proof of the residential address of the applicant.

Benefits of Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana

We learned above how to enroll for this national scheme. Now let us look at the top benefits of the plan:

1. Claims can be raised under the scheme for both partial and permanent disability due to accidents. This includes Rs. 37,500 in case of partial disability and Rs. 75,000 during permanent disability.
2. Scholarship is provided to at least 2 kids in the family covered under the AABY scheme. A scholarship benefit ensures that the children continue to receive education even at higher levels. A free scholarship worth Rs. 100 per month is offered to the eligible children from Grade 9 to Grade 12 every 6 months.
3. A death benefit of Rs. 30,000 is paid out to the family of the deceased beneficiary owing to natural death. In this case, the beneficiary of the scheme should be between the age bracket of 18-59 years.
4. Benefit for death due to accidents is also covered under the scheme at Rs. 75,000 for the nominee.
5. Disability caused due to accidents is covered under AABY, providing financial support to the family of the sole breadwinner of a beneficiary who has been affected due to accidental disability.

Occupations Covered by AABY

As mentioned earlier, not every person in the country is eligible to apply for the AABY scheme. There are only certain occupations or vocations that are considered eligible for receiving benefits under this plan. Here we share a list of the various vocations or occupations that the AABY plan covers under its domain:

• Brick kiln workers
• Safai Karamcharis (cleaning labor)
• People employed in Sericulture
• Salt growers
• Handloom and Khadi weavers
• People involved in the manufacturing of leather products
• Sheep breeders
• Indian workers overseas
• Transport workers
• Workers in the firecrackers industry

Note that all of the above workers are low income earning individuals who may not have a fixed salary but earn meager wages which may be quite minimal. Hence, the AABY scheme covers these individuals and people belonging to such low-income family households.

Exclusions Under the AABY Scheme

We discussed the occupations that are covered under the AABY plan above. However, there are certain exclusions under the plan which are worth knowing. Let’s look at these below:

• Death or disability caused due to a war or war-like situation in the country
• Any injury due to involvement in illegal activities
• Self-harm due to suicidal attempt
• Injury or self-harm due to mental disorder
• Death or disability owing to drugs or substance abuse
• Injury due to participation in dangerous or adventure sports

What is Covered  (Inclusions)	What is Not Covered (Exclusions)
Accidental death	Accident or injury due to participation in dangerous and adventure sports
Natural death	Death due to war-like situation in the country
Partial or Permanent Total Disability	Death or disability due to drugs/substance abuse