Postal Life Insurance Interest Rates in India

Postal Life Insurance (PLI) is a government-operated life insurance scheme in India that provides insurance coverage to the employees of central and state governments, defence personnel, and other government organisations. It was established in 1884 for the employees of the Postal department and was extended to the employees of other departments. It is one of the oldest and best insurance schemes in the country. In this article, let’s deep dive into postal Life Insurance interest rates in India.

What are the types of Postal Life Insurance Policies?

Postal Life Insurance offers the following few policies in India.

1. Whole Life Assurance (Suraksha)

2. Joint Life Assurance (Yugal Suraksha)

3. Convertible Whole Life Assurance (Suvidha)

4. Endowment Assurance (Santosh)

5. Anticipated Endowment Assurance (Sumangal)

6. Children Policy (Bal Jeevan Bima)

1. Whole Life Assurance (Suraksha)

In this scheme, the insured person will get the assured amount of money with the accrued bonus as they attain the age of 80. Or in case the insured person passes away before they turn 80, their legal representative or assignees will receive the money and the bonus. This is true if only the policy is in force on the date of claim.

• Minimum age 19, Maximum age 55.

• Sum Assured ₹ 20,000 -  ₹ 50 lakhs.

• Loan facility after 4 years.

• Surrender after 3 years.

• Last declared bonus - ₹ 85/- per ₹ 1000 sum assured per year.

2. Endowment Assurance (Santosh)

In this scheme, the insured person will get the assured amount of money with the accrued bonus as they attain a certain predetermined age (for example:- 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 etc). Or in case the insured person passes away before this predetermined age, their legal representative or assignees will receive the money and the bonus.

• Minimum age 19, Maximum age 55.

• Sum Assured ₹ 20,000 -  ₹ 50 lakhs.

• Loan facility after 3 years.

• Surrender after 3 years.

• Last declared bonus - ₹ 58/- per ₹ 1000 sum assured per year.

3. Convertible Whole Life Assurance (Suvidha)

This is a Whole Life Assurance Policy which allows the policyholder to convert their policy to the Endowment Assurance Policy after 5 years from taking the policy. Here also, the insured person will get the assured amount of money with the accrued bonus as they attain a certain predetermined age. Or, in case the insured person passes away before this predetermined age, their legal representative or assignees will receive the money and the bonus.

• Minimum age 19, Maximum age 50.

• Sum Assured ₹ 20,000 -  ₹ 50 lakhs.

• Loan facility after 4 years.

• Surrender after 3 years.

• Last declared bonus - ₹ 85/- per ₹ 1000 sum assured per year (for WLA policy if not converted to Endowment Assurance).

4. Anticipated Endowment Assurance (Sumangal)

This is a money-back insurance policy. The insurance holder will receive monetary benefits at regular intervals. In case of the death of the insurance holder, the legal representative or assignees will receive the full amount and any bonus accumulated. This policy can be of either a 15-year term or a 20-year term.

• Minimum age 19 years and maximum age 40 years for a 20-year term policy.

• Minimum age 19 and maximum age 45 years for a 15-year term policy.

• If you choose a 15-year term, then you will receive periodic benefits at the end of the 6th year, 9th year, 12th year and 15th year. This will be 20% and on completion of the policy you will receive 40% with an acquired bonus. 

• If you choose a 20-year term, then you will receive periodic benefits at the end of the 8th year, 12th year, 16th year and 20th year. This will be 20% and on completion of the policy you will receive 40% with an acquired bonus.

• Last declared bonus - ₹ 53/- per ₹ 1000 sum assured per year.

5. Joint Life Assurance (Yugal Suraksha)

This policy is for married couples. Here, either spouse should be eligible for the Postal Insurance Policy (PLI). This policy will give lifetime cover for both spouses. The policyholders will receive the assured sum and acquired bonus upon the completion of the term, and in case of death, the assignees or the surviving spouse will receive the same.

• Minimum age 21, Maximum age 45 (The age of the couple should be between 21-45.

• Sum Assured ₹ 20,000 -  ₹ 50 lakhs

• Loan facility after 3 years.

• Surrender after 3 years.

• Last declared bonus - ₹ 58/- per ₹ 1000 sum assured per year (for WLA policy if not converted to Endowment Assurance).

6. Children Policy (Bal Jeevan Bima)

In this scheme, you can take a life insurance policy for your children. The policyholder can insure a maximum of two of their children.

• The child should be between 5-20 years of age.

• Policyholders, or parents should not be over 45 years of age.

• Sum Assured ₹ 3 lakhs or equal to the sum assured of the parent, whichever is less.

• In case the policyholder (the parent) passes away, no premium would be paid. On completion of the term, the full sum shall be paid to the policyholder.

• It is the policyholder (parent) who shall be responsible for the payment of the children's policy.

• The last bonus rate is ₹ 58/- per ₹ 1000 sum assured per year.

PLI Loan Facility and Interest Rates

PLI provides the policyholder with the ability to take a short-term loan from the policy. This loan facility is, however, available only after 3 to 4 years after taking the policy (3 years in case of Endowment Assurance and 4 years in case of Whole Life Insurance). The interest rate for this loan is 10% per annum for 6 months. This means that the interest is paid every six months for the PLI loan facility.

Benefits of Postal Life Insurance in India

In the Indian Life Insurance market today, Postal Life Insurance is the only life insurance which gives a higher return (bonus) with a low premium charged. You can also change your nominee during the policy term. The ability to take a loan from the policy is an added benefit that will appeal to a lot of policyholders. Besides these, PLI provides the following benefits as well.

• Tax exemptions

• Quick and easy claiming process

• PIL offers the ability to revive lapsed policies. (Policies lapse in case you failed to pay the premium for 6 times in a row for a policy that existed for less than or equal to 3 years and 12 times in a row if it existed over 3 years)

• In case the original policy bond has been lost or damaged, PIL offers the policyholder to have a duplicate policy bond.

• You can convert certain policies to other policies. For example, Whole Life Assurance -Gram Suraksha to Endowment -Gram Santosh Assurance.

PLI Interest Rate Calculator

There are online tools to help the policyholder calculate the total premium amount payable towards the policy. These calculators also help in comparing various PLI plans and help you choose the best options. This premium amount calculated will include the GST as well, and the premium payable can be calculated for monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual time frames.

Who is eligible to apply for PLI?

Postal Life Insurance was initially introduced for only the employees of the Postal department. But later it was extended to other government and semi-government departments. You are eligible for PLI if you are employed in the following departments.

• Central Government

• State Government

• Local Bodies

• Defence Services

• Paramilitary forces

• Government-aided Educational Institutions

• Public Sector Undertakings

• Reserve Bank of India

• Nationalised Banks

• Financial Institutions

• Employees of all the scheduled commercial banks

• Autonomous Bodies

• Extra Departmental Agents in Department of Posts

• Employees Engaged/ Appointed on Contract basis by central/ state government where the contract is extendable

• Employees of Credit Co-operative Societies and other Co-operative Societies registered with Government under the Co-operative Societies Act and partly or fully funded from the central/ state government/RBI/ SBI/ Nationalised Banks/ NABARD and other such institutions notified by Government

• Employees of deemed Universities and educational institutes accredited by recognized bodies such a National Assessment and Accreditation Council, All India Council of Technical Education, Medical Council of India, etc.

• Employees (teaching/non-teaching staff) of all private educational Institutions/schools/colleges etc. affiliated to recognized Boards (recognized by Centre/State Government) of Secondary/Senior Secondary education i.e. CBSE, ICSE, State Boards, Open School, etc.

•  Employees of listed companies of NSE (National Stock Exchange) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in IT, Banking & Finance, Healthcare/Pharma, Energy/Power, Telecom, Infrastructure Sector etc, where employees are covered for Provident Fund/Gratuity and/or their leave records are maintained by the establishment.

• Professionals such as Doctors (including Doctors pursuing Post Graduate degree courses through any Govt/Private Hospitals, Residents Doctors employed on contract/permanent basis in any Govt/Private Hospitals etc), Engineers (including Engineers pursuing Master’s/Post Graduate degree after having passed GATE entrance test), Management Consultants, Chartered Accountants registered with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Architects, Lawyers registered with Bar Council of India/States, Bankers working in Nationalised Banks and its Associate Banks, Foreign Banks, Regional Rural Banks, scheduled commercial banks including Private Sector Banks etc.

Frequently asked questions

Below are some of the frequently asked questions on Postal Life Insurance Interest Rates in India

Is Postal Life Insurance (PLI) better than others?

When compared to other life insurance in the market, PLI offers a cheaper premium. And that is the most appealing factor in selecting PLI over other life insurance policies. Also, the bonus rate offered by PLI is 7% or more. Whereas other life insurance policies have lesser bonus rates.

Can I buy Postal Life Insurance Online?

Yes. Even if you are not a customer of PLI already, you still can buy a policy online. Customer can buy Postal Life Insurance online by visiting the following URL: https://pli.indiapost.gov.in/CustomerPortal/Home.action

Which PLI Scheme is the best?

Postal Life Insurance offers 6 policies or schemes. They are as follows.

• Whole Life Assurance (Suraksha)

• Endowment Assurance (Santosh)

• Convertible Whole Life Assurance (Suvidha)

• Anticipated Endowment Assurance (Sumangal)

• Joint Life Assurance (Yugal Suraksha)

• Children Policy (Bal Jeevan Bima)

Please go through each and select the one that best suits your requirements. There are online tools to calculate the Interest Rate and the total premium amount payable towards the policy.

What is the interest rate in the Postal Life Insurance Scheme?

PLI provides the policyholder with the ability to take a short-term loan from the policy. The interest rate for this loan is 10% per annum for 6 months. This means that the interest is paid every six months for the PLI loan facility.

How to check the status of a Postal Life Insurance policy?

You can check the status of a Postal Life Insurance Policy by logging in to the Official Website  - www.indiapost.gov.in. You need to log in with your registered email id and required credentials. After that, you can see the status of your life insurance policy. 

Disclaimer: The content on this page is generic and shared only for informational and explanatory purposes. It is based on industry experience and several secondary sources on the internet, and is subject to changes. 

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