Life Insurance Postal Life Insurance
Postal life insurance
Having started on 1st February 1884, Postal Life Insurance is the oldest insurance scheme of India that was introduced under the Queen Empress of India with the approval of the Secretary of State (for India) to Her Majesty. Whereas it started its journey as a welfare scheme for the benefit of postal employees later its benefits are extended to the employees of the Telegraph Department in 1888. One remarkable thing about it is that from 1894, the Postal Life Insurance scheme also started to cover the female employees of posts and telegraph department whereas no other insurance company in the then market was offering the same facility. Since then, PLI has been servicing its consumers faithfully and winning the trust of the people successfully, as per the report, PLI has grown to more than 50 Lakh policies as of 31.03.2021.
Postal Life Insurance Scheme offers life insurance cover with high returns at an affordable premium rate. It now covers the following employees.
- Central & State Governments
- Defense and Para-Military Services
- Bankers working in Nationalized banks and associate banks, Reserve Bank of India, foreign banks, regional rural banks, scheduled commercial banks including private sector banks.
- Educational Institutions affiliated to recognized boards such as CBSE, ICSE, State Boards, open schools. deemed universities, etc.
- Local Bodies, professionals such as doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, MBAs, lawyers, etc. management consultants, charted accountants associated and registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
- Architects and lawyers registered with the Bar Council of India or State.
- Employees of companies listed with National Stock Exchange (NSE) / Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in IT, Banking and Finance, healthcare, pharma, energy, power, telecom infrastructure sector, etc.
- Defense services and para military forces.
Postal Life Insurance has also come up with certain plans to special offer benefits and facilities related to the rural people. Now the upper limit of the insurance has been extended to Rs. 50 lakhs to combat the growing inflation rate to offer a wider coverage according to the convenience of the people.
Key Features & Benefits of Postal Life Insurance
All the Postal Life Insurance schemes including the rural ones have come up with a sack full of benefits and special features. To know about it more, have a look at the following mentions.
- Maximum Returns – In comparison to the other insurance companies, Postal Life Insurance schemes offer the highest coverage for policy and the right bonus amount whereas, for it, you need to pay an affordable premium.
- Nomination Facility – Under this scheme, the policyholder can not only nominate his/her beneficiary or nominee as per his/her choice but also can make changes to the nomination, if necessary.
- Loan Facility – One can also avail of the loan facility on the security of the policy, only if the policy has been in force for at least 3 years. The maximum admissible amount of loan will be 90% of the surrender value of the policy which will be subject to the condition that the amount of loan should not become less than Rs.1000.
- Revival of Discontinued Policy – In the case policy has lapsed or become void and is time-barred for automatic reinstatement, the main policyholder may apply for the revival of this policy to the Postmaster General/ Head of Division/ Postmaster of the nearest Central Processing Centre (GPO/ Head Post Office) before the policy has matured. This is subject to the terms and conditions of PLI.
- Reinstatement of Policy – In case of the policy has become void and the insured person wants an automatic reinstatement of the policy, he can deposit all the arrears of premium/ premia up to date of payment along with the prescribed interest at any post office. Reinstatement can only be done within the period of 6 months or 1 year from the date of the first unpaid premium.
- Surrender Value – If this policy has been in force for at least 3 years, it can be surrendered for payment on a reduced sum assured up to the date for which premiums have been paid. However, the surrender Value amount will be less compared to premiums paid.
- Death Benefit – The death benefit under this policy is available having certain limits as per the duration of the active policy if the policy has been taken under non-medical ground. Here are the limits as follows.
- If the death of the insured person occurs before the completion of one year of the policy from the date of acceptance, then only 35% of the sum assured will be payable.
- If the death of the insured occurs after one year but before completion of two years from the date of acceptance, then only 60% of the sum assured will be paid to the nominee or the legal heir.
- If the death of the insured occurs after two years but before completion of three years from the date of acceptance, then 90% of the sum assured will be paid.
- Income Tax and Rebate – Income tax rebate can be availed of under Section 80C of the I. T. Act towards the premiums paid. Also, a special rebate is available as per the terms and conditions of the policy.
- Medical and Non-Medical Policy – Both medical and non-medical types of policies are available under the Postal Life Insurance schemes. Non-medical policy attracts deduction of a sizeable percentage of death claims if the insured person dies within 3 years from the date of acceptance. But, it is always better to go for the medical policies as it comes with greater benefits and facilities.
- Assignment of a Policy – An assignment of a policy can be made either by endorsement on the reverse of the policy itself or by a separate deed. The assignment must be signed and dated by the assignor in the presence of a witness.
- Wider Connectivity – If you are changing your location of staying, your PLI or RPLI policy need not to be transferred from one circle to another circle. Now premium can be paid at any post office all over the country and policy payment can also be taken from any post office in India.
- Smooth Claim Process – As the Postal Life Insurance schemes are centralized schemes and the availability is very much high, the claim process for these schemes is very easy and quick.
- Conversion of Policy – Under PLI and RPLI, a policy can be converted from a Whole Life Assurance policy to an Endowment Assurance Policy, and also An Endowment Assurance Policy can be converted to another Endowment Assurance plan as per the regulations and guidelines laid down by the insurer.
Schemes Offered By Postal Life Insurance Scheme
Postal Life Insurance has come up with six different variants to cater to the varied needs of individuals. You can choose any of the schemes according to your convenience Here is a list containing all the variants of the policy including the eligibility criteria.
Name of the scheme | Entry age | Sum insured | Last declared bonus |
Whole Life Assurance (SURAKSHA) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 55 years | Minimum – Rs. 20,000 Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs | Rs. 76/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Convertible Whole Life Assurance (SUVIDHA) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 50 years | Minimum – Rs. 20,000 Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs | Rs. 76/- per Rs. 1000 per year (for WLA policy if not converted to Endowment Assurance) |
Endowment Assurance (SANTOSH) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 55 years | Minimum – Rs. 20,000 Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs | Rs. 52/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Joint Life Assurance (YUGAL SURAKSHA) | Minimum – 21 years Maximum – 45 years | Minimum – Rs. 20,000 Maximum – Rs. 50 lakhs | Rs. 52/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Anticipated Endowment Assurance (SUMANGAL) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 40 years and 45 years | NA | Rs. 48/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Children Policy (Bal Jeevan Bima) | Adult – Not more than 45 years Children – 5 years to 20 years | Maximum – Rs. 3 lakhs or equal to the sum assured of the parent, whichever is less | Rs. 52/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Postal Life Insurance Schemes Detail
This plan helps the life assured to get the assured amount along with accrued bonus once he/she attains the age of 80 years. In case of unfortunate demise of the life assured, his/her legal representatives will receive the same amount. However, to avail of this facility, the policy should be in force on the date of claim.
Key highlights of the scheme:
- Under this policy, the loan facility is available after 4 years and one can surrender the policy after 3 years.
- This scheme can be converted into Endowment Assurance Policy up to 59 years of age of the insurant. It has to be remembered, the date of conversion should not fall within one year of the last date of premium payment or date of maturity.
- Premium paying age can be opted for as 55,58 or 60 years, and the proportionate bonus on the reduced sum assured is paid only if the policy is surrendered.
It is a Whole Life Assurance Policy that has come up with the facility of an option to convert it to Endowment Assurance Policy at the end of five years of taking the policy, not later than 6 years of taking the policy. If not converted, the policy will be treated as Whole Life Assurance. The loan facility is available under this policy after the completion of 4 years and the policy can also be surrendered after 3 years.
Key highlights of the policy:
- Sum assured with accrued bonus will be payable once the life assured reaches the maturity age and the same will be paid to the nominee if the life assured suffers an unfortunate death.
- On conversion of the policy, a bonus of Endowment Assurance will be payable.
- The life assured will not be eligible for the bonus if the policy is surrendered before the completion of 5 years.
This policy offers the life assured an assurance to the extent of the sum assured and accrued bonus till he/she attains the pre-determined age of maturity that is 35,40,45,50,55,58 & 60 years of age. The same will be paid to the legal heir if the assured suffers a premature death.
Key highlights of the policy:
- One can avail of the loan facility after completion of 3 years.
- The policy can be surrendered after 3 years. The life assured will not be eligible for the bonus if the policy is surrendered before the completion of 5 years.
- Proportionate bonus on the reduced sum assured is paid if the policy is surrendered after 5 years.
As the name suggests, under this single Postal Life Insurance policy, the spouse can also be included and avail of the benefits of the policy. The loan facility and the surrender of the policy is only available after 3 years from the inception of the policy.
Key highlights of the policy:
- This policy offers life cover to both spouses to the extent of sum assured with accrued bonus under a single premium.
- The minimum term of the policy is 5 years and the maximum is 20 years.
- In case of the unfortunate demise of the spouse or main policyholder, the death benefits are paid to either of the survivors.
This policy is most suitable for individuals who need periodic returns as it is a comprehensive Money Back Policy. To generate a regular flow of income, this policy is the ideal one.
Key highlights of the policy:
- Survival benefits are paid periodically to the life assured. But in case of demise of the life assured, this facility will not be available. Instead, the full sum assured with accrued bonus will be paid to the assignee, nominee or legal heir.
- The policy term for this policy is 15 years and 20 years.
- Survival benefits are paid periodically as below: –
- 15 years Policy- 20% each on completion of 6 years, 9 years & 12 years and 40% with accrued bonus on maturity.
- 20 years Policy- 20% each on completion of 8 years, 12 years & 16 years and 40% with accrued bonus on maturity.
This policy is designed specially for the children to offer them life insurance cover keeping in mind their needs as they grow. The policyholder of this policy should be the parent of the child and he/she will pay the premium for this policy. No loan facility and surrender facility is available under this policy. This plan has also come up with the facility to make it paid up, only if the premiums are paid continuously for 5 years from the inception of the policy.
Key highlights of the policy:
- Maximum two children of the policyholder (parent) are eligible for this policy.
- In case of the unfortunate death of the policyholder (parent), no premium is needed to be paid. Full sum assured and bonus accrued will be paid on completion of the term.
- To avail of this policy, no pre-policy medical examination of the child is necessary. However, the child should be healthy and the risk will start from the day of acceptance of the proposal.
What Is Rural Postal Life Insurance?
Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) was introduced on 24th March 1995 for the rural people of India. The Malhotra Committee had observed in 1993 that only 22% of the insurable population in this country had been insured; life insurance funds accounted for only 10% of the gross household savings. The Government accepted the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee and allowed Postal Life Insurance to extend its coverage to the rural areas to transact life insurance business, mainly because of the vast network of Post Offices in the rural areas and low cost of operations. The prime objective of the scheme is to provide insurance cover to the rural public in general and benefit weaker sections and women workers of rural areas in particular and also to spread insurance awareness among the rural population.
Schemes Offered Under Rural Postal Life Insurance Scheme (RPLI)
RPLI schemes are suitable for the rural people and those policies are made keeping in mind the insurance needs of the rural population. It has also presented six variants, just like the Postal Life Insurance Scheme to suit the purpose of the rural people. Have look at the below table to know the basic and important eligibility criteria of the schemes.
Name of scheme | Age at entry | Sum insured | Last declared bonus |
Whole Life Assurance (GRAM SURAKSHA) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 55 years | Minimum – Rs. 10,000, Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs | Rs. 60/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Convertible Whole Life Assurance (GRAM SUVIDHA) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 50 years | Minimum – Rs. 10,000, Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs | Rs. 60/- per Rs. 1000 per year (for WLA policy if not converted to Endowment Assurance) |
Endowment Assurance (GRAM SANTOSH) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 55 years | Minimum – Rs. 10,000, Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs | Rs. 48/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
10 Years Rural PLI (Gram Priya) | Minimum – 20 years Maximum – 45 years | Minimum – Rs. 10,000, Maximum – Rs. 10 lakhs | Rs. 45/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Anticipated Endowment Assurance (GRAM SUMANGAL) | Minimum – 19 years Maximum – 40 years and 45 years | NA | Rs. 45/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Children Policy (Bal Jeevan Bima) | Adult – Not more than 45 years Children – 5 years to 20 years | Maximum – Rs. 1 lakh or equal to the sum assured of the parent, whichever is less. | Rs. 48/- per Rs. 1000 sum assured per year |
Postal Life Insurance and Rural Postal Life Insurance Statistics- Things to know
With the help of the following statistics showcasing the number of policies, sum assured and the corpus of a fund in respect to the specific year, you can better understand the graph of Postal Life Insurance as well as Rural Postal Life Insurance. Have a look at it.
Year | PLI – No. of Policies in Force | PLI – Sum Assured Amount | PLI – Corpus of Fund | RPLI – No. of Policies in Force | RPLI – Sum Assured Amount | RPLI – Corpus of Fund |
2005 – 2006 | 3098248 | 22951.6 | 8933.69 | 4702776 | 25229.66 | 1624.77 |
2006 – 2007 | 3297825 | 26753.17 | 10342.61 | 5246673 | 33865.65 | 2284.92 |
2007 – 2008 | 3550084 | 31469 | 12081.71 | 6167928 | 41846.09 | 3003.78 |
2008 – 2009 | 3841539 | 38403 | 14152.59 | 7356446 | 53072.1 | 3994.36 |
2009 – 2010 | 4283302 | 51209.9 | 16656.02 | 9925103 | 59572.59 | 5524.69 |
2010 – 2011 | 4686245 | 64077.9 | 19801.91 | 12203345 | 66132.23 | 6607.79 |
2011 – 2012 | 5006060 | 76591.34 | 23010.55 | 13547355 | 69754.17 | 9141.44 |
2012 – 2013 | 5219326 | 88896.47 | 28190 | 14664650 | 75154.07 | 11388.07 |
2013 – 2014 | 5406093 | 102276.1 | 32716 | 15014314 | 79466.46 | 13352.01 |
2014 – 2015 | 5242257 | 109106.9 | 39536 | 15245387 | 82822.26 | 15771.55 |
Additional Details of Postal Life Insurance
There are a few more things that you need to know about Postal Life Insurance to get a clear picture of its schemes and its mechanisms. To know that, follow the below mentions.
Payment of Premium – If you fail to pay the premium amount timely, generally, the life risk is not covered during the lapsation period. The premium must be paid in advance on the first day of each month. However, the grace period is allowed up to the last working day of the month. Mode of payment means the frequency that is yearly, half-yearly, quarterly, monthly, etc.
How and where to pay the premium – Now the premium for the Postal Life Insurance schemes can be paid at any of the post offices. Even if you change your location, you can pay the premium for your PLI or RPLI policy at any of the nearest post office branches without changing the circle.
Contact details – You can get connected easily to Postal Life Insurance with the help of your registered email ID or phone number as these are the vital supplements of your postal address. You can also contact them by visiting the nearest serving post office.
Important exclusion – In the event the insured commits suicide any time from the date of acceptance of the policy but before the second policy anniversary, then the policy will be treated as void and no claim will be entertained in regard to this policy.
Free look period – The policyholder can cancel the policy within 15 days from the commencement of the policy, if not satisfied with the terms and conditions of the policy. On such cancellation, the premium paid by the policyholder will be refunded after deducting medical charges, if any, and proportionate premium till the date of application of cancellation.
Aviation – If the death of the insured arises either directly or indirectly as a result of aviation otherwise than as a fare-paying passenger in an aircraft authorized to undertake public transport or as a servant of the Government of India in the Indian Navy or Air Force, only the surrender value acquired by the policy will be payable. And also, the surrender value will be paid only if 3 years premia have been paid on the policy and the policy is of not less than 3 years duration.
Details of the surrender value – The surrender value of a policy means when the insured person surrenders the policy, he/she is entitled to receive a certain amount. For PLI and RPLI, the surrender value means:
- A proportionate bonus on the reduced sum assured is paid if the policy is surrendered after 5 years.
- Endowment Assurance policy can be surrendered after 36 months.
- WLA policy can be surrendered after 48 months.
- No surrender of AEA policy.
Premium payment through deduction o salary – You can also pay the premiums for PLI and RPLI by deducting the amount from your salary. If your services are transferred, you need to find out from your new office, the location of the PLI office where your PLI Premium will be sent.
How Can You Buy Postal Life Insurance Scheme?
You can purchase a Postal Life Insurance or Rural Postal Life Insurance policy both online and offline according to your convenience. For your better understanding, both the procedures are discussed below.
Online Process:
If you want to buy a PLI or RPLI policy online, follow the below easy steps.
- Visit the India Post Website.
- Click on the Quote menu option in the drop-down of the Purchase a Policy tab.
- Generate the quote by entering a valid phone number, email id, and correct PIN code.
- The name of the nearest Head Post Office will Pop up based on the provided PIN code.
- Now you need to fill out the Proposal Form correctly providing the required details.
- After that, you can make an initial premium through the link provided in the email or ‘initial payment menu’ in the drop-down of Purchase a Policy.
- Then you have to upload the relevant documents through the Document upload menu in the drop-down of Purchase a policy Customer Portal.
- The selected Head Post Office will download the document and initiate further processing.
- Policy Bond will be issued to you through Registered Post.
Offline Process:
If you are more comfortable with the offline buying process, you can go to the nearest post office and obtain a policy from the post office staff such as inspector staff, clerical staff postmen, etc. Field officers of Postal Life Insurance can also guide you smoothly through the buying process. If you stay in a rural area, buying an RPLI will not be a problem for you. Gramin Dak Seva of Rural Post Offices or Gramin Dikghar will be there to assist you. Apart from these, you can also buy a policy from the registered and licensed direct agents of India Post.
Frequently Asked Questions
One policy on each child can be taken that is subject to the maximum limit of two children.
If you are a new customer, you can register yourself following the below easy steps:
- Go to the official website of Postal Life Insurance and click on the Login option.
- Then, click on the Generate Customer ID option.
- Provide required details such as your name, address, policy number, etc., and submit.
- After that, you will receive a first time registration link to your registered email ID to set the password for your portal.
- You can also use the Forgot password option to change or reset the password only after the password is set using the first time registration link.
Yes, a claim facility is available in suicide cases only if the policy is continued for two years.
Policies may be assigned by the policyholder either for valuable consideration, loan against the policy, or by way of gift.
Admissible rebates @ 1% and 2% shall be given for (i) 6 months and (ii) 12 months or more advance deposits in PLI respectively. Admissible rebate @ 0.5%, 1% and 2% shall be given for (i) 3 months, (ii) 6 months and (iii) 12 months or more advance deposits in RPLI respectively. In addition, for every Rs. 20,000/- the sum assured, a rebate of Rs. 1 is allowed every month in EA/WLA/AEA policies.
The standard age proofs that are accepted by the Postal Life Insurance are as follows:
- Extract from the school register
- Extract from transfer certificate
- Extract from service register
- Extract from service records of small commercial institutes
- ID card of defense personnel
- Board or university certificate showing the date of birth
- Municipal or other live records.
In that case, Yugal Suraksha Scheme is the most suitable one as under it both the spouses can jointly get a policy, after paying a little extra premium.
The pre-policy medical check-up is mandatory for the proposer in the following cases:
- PLI: Sum assured or aggregate sum assured limit is more than Rs. 1 lakh or the proposer’s age is more than 35 years.
- Rural PLI: Sum assured or aggregate sum assured limit is more than Rs. 25,000 or the proposer’s age is more than 35 years.
One can pay the premium in the subsequent month, by paying a minimum fine of 1% of the premium amount per month.
The required documents are as follows:
- Duly filled and signed maturity claim application form.
- Policy bond or indemnity bond.
- Premium receipt book or DDO certificate.
- Canceled cheque (EFT payments).
For changing the address, you need to intimate the Postmaster General or Head of Division or Postmaster of the nearest Central Processing Centre (GPO or Head Post Office. It is very important to keep your address, telephone number, and email ID updated.
One can continue the policy by making payment at any of the Post Office across the country or through online mode.
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