Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

What is Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana?

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) is a government-backed term life insurance scheme administered by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance. PMJJBY was launched on 9 May 2015 as one of the three Jan Suraksha schemes, alongside PMSBY and the Atal Pension Yojana.

According to the Department of Financial Services, PMJJBY pays Rs 2 lakh to the nominee on the death of the subscriber from any cause, for an annual premium of Rs 436. The cover is offered by the Life Insurance Corporation of India and other life insurers, in partnership with banks and India Post, which act as the master policy holders.

Key objectives

• Extend a basic life insurance safety net to low-income households that have never bought a life policy.
• Use the Jan Dhan bank account network to remove the cost of agents, underwriting and paperwork.
• Keep the premium low enough - about Rs 1.20 a day - that a daily-wage earner can afford it.

Main features

• Pure term cover with no maturity, survival or surrender value.
• One-year cover running from 1 June to 31 May, renewable every year.
• Premium of Rs 436 per member per year debited in a single instalment.
• Enrolment is linked to a savings bank or post office account, not to a medical examination. A self-declaration of good health is enough.
• Cumulative enrolment crossed 27.84 crore and claims of about Rs 21,512 crore have been settled on over 10.75 lakh claims, according to Department of Financial Services figures released in 2026.

Who is eligible for PMJJBY?

You can apply if:

• You are aged 18 to 50 years (completed) on the date of enrolment.
• You hold an individual savings bank account or post office savings account in India.
• You give written or digital consent for auto-debit of the annual premium.
• You submit a self-declaration of good health in the prescribed form.

Cover once taken continues until you reach age 55, provided the premium is paid each year without a break. NRIs holding an eligible Indian bank account may enrol, but the claim will be paid in Indian rupees to the nominee.

You cannot apply if:

• You are below 18 or above 50 years of age at entry - a 51-year-old cannot join for the first time even if the account is active.
• You hold only a current account, a loan account or a joint corporate account rather than an individual savings account.
• You already hold PMJJBY through another bank - only one cover per person is permitted, and any second premium is forfeited without cover.
• You refuse the auto-debit mandate. PMJJBY has no cash or cheque premium route.

Note the 30-day lien: if you die of any cause other than an accident within 30 days of enrolment, the claim is not payable. This lien also applies afresh to anyone who leaves the scheme and rejoins later.

What documents are required for PMJJBY?

How to apply for PMJJBY

1. Confirm that your savings bank or post office account is active and that your age on the date of enrolment is between 18 and 50 years.
2. Download the consent-cum-declaration form for PMJJBY from jansuraksha.gov.in, or collect it at your bank or post office branch. The form is available in English, Hindi and several regional languages.
3. Fill in your account number, Aadhaar number, date of birth, nominee name and relationship, and sign the good-health declaration.
4. Submit the form at the branch and authorise the auto-debit of Rs 436. Keep the acknowledgement slip, which carries your enrolment number.
5. Alternatively enrol digitally - most banks offer PMJJBY under the "Insurance" or "Social Security Schemes" menu in net banking, the mobile banking app or at an ATM, and several banks accept enrolment by SMS.
6. Check that Rs 436 is debited from your account before 31 May each year so that the cover renews without a break.

How much benefit does PMJJBY provide?

PMJJBY pays a single, fixed sum of Rs 2,00,000 to the nominee on the death of the subscriber during the cover period. There is no graded payout, no accidental-death top-up and no return of premium if the member survives the year.

Set against the payout, the annual cost is Rs 436, which works out to a premium-to-cover ratio of about 0.22%. The premium was revised upward from Rs 330 with effect from 1 June 2022, the first revision in seven years, after what the Department of Financial Services described as an adverse claims experience.

Members joining part-way through the cover year pay on a pro-rata basis in some quarters as notified by the insurer, but the standard route is the full annual premium debited before 31 May.

When does PMJJBY cover end?

PMJJBY cover terminates in any of these situations:

• On the member attaining age 55, even if the premium was paid.
• On closure of the bank or post office account, or the balance being insufficient to keep the cover in force.
• If a member is covered through more than one account, the cover under the duplicate account ends and that premium is forfeited.
• On non-payment of the premium by the due date in any year.
• On the death of the member and settlement of the claim.

How to make a PMJJBY claim

1. The nominee approaches the bank or post office branch where the deceased held the enrolled account.
2. The nominee submits the claim form, the death certificate, a discharge receipt and the nominee's own bank account details or a cancelled cheque.
3. The branch verifies that the cover was active on the date of death and forwards the papers to the insurance company.
4. The insurer settles the claim and credits Rs 2 lakh to the nominee's bank account.

Claim forms in the prescribed format are available at jansuraksha.gov.in and at participating bank branches. Keeping the nominee's name updated in bank records is the single biggest thing a subscriber can do to make settlement quick.

Common reasons PMJJBY claims are rejected

• Death within the 30-day lien period from a cause other than an accident.
• Premium not debited because of insufficient balance, so the cover had lapsed on the date of death.
• Age above 55 on the date of death, when cover has already ceased.
• No nominee recorded, or a nominee whose details do not match bank records.
• Duplicate enrolment, where a claim is filed on an account whose premium was forfeited.

Help and grievance redressal

• Jan Suraksha national toll-free numbers: 1800-180-1111 and 1800-110-001
• Official portal: jansuraksha.gov.in, which hosts the scheme rules, application forms and claim forms in multiple languages
• First point of contact: the branch of the bank or post office where the enrolled account is held

PMJJBY enrolment costs nothing beyond the Rs 436 premium. No agent commission is payable, and no bank official should ask for a separate service charge to enrol you or to process a nominee's claim.