What is Postal Life Insurance?
Postal Life Insurance, a government-backed insurance plan, started as a welfare scheme providing benefits to postal employees and the oldest life insurance scheme. It later extended its cover to the Telegraph Department employees of the P&T Department. PLI also extended insurance coverage to female employees in 1894. Now, it covers employees of Defense & Para-military services, Central & State Government Employees, Banks, Public sector Undertakings, Local bodies, Educational institutes and professionals like engineers, doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers, MBA, etc. and the company’s employees listed with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)/ National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The main objective of this PLI scheme is to make sure the well-being of Indian government employees through sufficient life insurance coverage. With this scheme, they can easily avail of life insurance at a lower premium rate than plans available in the insurance industry.
Similar to Postal Life Insurance (PLI), there is an RPLI i.e., Rural Postal Life Insurance scheme to provide financial benefits to the rural people.
What is Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI)
The Postal Department of India introduced the Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) Scheme in 1995 for rural people of India. In 1993, the Malhotra Committee recommended that about 22% of the Indian population had insurance coverage and funds related to life insurance only accounted for 10% of households’ savings. The Indian Government accepted the observations presented by the committee, and then PLI extended its coverage to the rural regions. This is due to the large network of Post Offices in the rural populated area. In addition to this, the operational cost was also low because of this reason. This plan mainly focuses on providing insurance coverage to the weaker sections of society and women working in rural areas. The other objective is to spread awareness regarding insurance among the rural population.
Points to Remember About Postal and Rural Life Insurance Plans
Following are a few points to consider before buying Postal and Rural Life Insurance Plans:
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Government employees can continue with the PLI scheme even after leaving their job.
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Premium amounts can be payable annually, half-yearly or monthly.
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You have the option to surrender the plan at any time. Whole life insurance plans can be easily surrendered after completing 4 years, and 3 years are required for surrendering endowment plans.
Conclusion
Postal life insurance is specifically designed for government employees are the most common and preferred insurance plan that gives you financial protection in case of a policyholder’s death. However, before buying any life insurance plan, you should always assess your life insurance objectives, compute the coverage you need for your family and choose a comprehensive plan
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