Question : Postal Life Insurance

(a) the present status of the Postal Life Insurance (PLI) policy in the country, State/UT-wise including Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra;

(b) whether the Government has achieved the objective of the said policy since its inception and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the details and the salient features of various types of financial products offered under PLI along with the number of beneficiaries covered under the PLI as on date, State/UT-wise and product-wise and the new beneficiaries added during each of the last three years, State/UT-wise;

(d) the number of PLI agents working at present and the incentives offered to them, State/UT-wise;

(e) whether the Government has proposed any training programmes for PLI agents on the lines of the programmes run by the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (IRDA) to increase the subscribers base of PLI in the country and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and

(f) the steps taken by the Government to dispose pending claims of insurance policy in various post offices in a time bound manner?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS,
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a) As on date, there are 64,62,874 Postal Life Insurance (PLI) policies in the country. Postal Circle (State/UT) - wise number of PLI policies including Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra is enclosed as Annexure-I.

(b) Yes, Sir. The Government has substantially achieved the objective of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) policy since its inception in 1884. Benefits of PLI were available to Government and semi-Government employees, which have recently been extended to professionals and employees of listed companies of NSE (National Stock Exchange) and BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) in October, 2017.

(c) Details and salient features of six (6) types of insurance products offered under the Postal Life Insurance (PLI) Scheme are as under:
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Product Name Suraksha (Whole Life Assurance) Santosh (Endowment Assurance) Suvidha (Convertible Whole Life Assurance) Sumangal (Anticipated Endowment Assurance) Yugal Suraksha (Joint Life Assurance) Bal Jeevan Bima (Children Policy)
Maturity age/ Policy term At the age of 80 years or death, whichever is earlier At the pre-determined age of 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 58, or 60 years Can be converted to an endowment assurance after 5 years Policy term of 15 years or 20 years Policy Term –
Min :5 years
Max : 20 years Maturity age: 18 to 25 years
Entry age limits
(in years) 19 to 55 19 to 55 19 to 50 19 to 40 (20 years term) / 19 to 45 (15 years term) 21 to 45 (both spouses) Child: 5 to 20
Parent : Max 45
Sum assured limit (in Rs.) 20,000 to
50 Lakhs 20,000 to
50 Lakhs 20,000 to
50 Lakhs 20,000 to
50 Lakhs 20,000 to
50 Lakhs 20,000 to
3 Lakhs
Survival benefit Term 15 : 20% in year 6, 9, 12 and balance on maturity
Term 20: 20% in year 8, 12, and 16 and balance on maturity
Loan facility After 4 years After 3 years After 4 years After 3 years

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Number of beneficiaries covered under PLI as on date (State/UT – wise and product – wise) is enclosed as Annexure – I. New beneficiaries added in PLI during each of the last three years (State/UT-wise) is enclosed as Annexure – II.

(d) Postal Circle (State/UT) - wise number of PLI agents and the incentive paid to them during the last year FY 2018-19 is enclosed as Annexure-III.

(e) To increase the subscriber base of PLI in the country, sales force of PLI comprising of Departmental Employees, Gramin Dak Sevaks and Direct Agents are given in-house training through various institutions and licentiate training in coordination with the Insurance Institute of India, Mumbai, an institute recognized by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.

(f) Regular monitoring is done at all levels, including Circle/Regional/Divisional level to settle claims of insurance policies in time bound manner as per Citizen Charter norms.