How Does Postal Life Insurance Work? How Do You Check Your PLI Status?
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Postal Life Insurance is an insurance scheme that the Government of India offers to Central and State Governments, public sector undertakings, educational institutions aided by the Government, nationalized banks, etc. PLI’s best feature is that it fetches good returns at extremely low premium limits.
Features of Postal Life Insurance
- The scheme provides tax exemption to the insured under Sec. 88 of Income Tax Act.
- If you pay the premium in advance for a policy period of 6 months, you are eligible for a discount on a premium worth 1% of the value.
- If you pay the premium in advance for a policy period of 12 months, you are eligible for a discount on a premium worth 2% of the value.
- A nomination facility is provided.
6 Types of Insurance Plans under Postal Life Insurance
There are six types of insurance plans offered under Postal Life Insurance Scheme offers:
1. Whole Life Assurance (Suraksha)
Under this scheme, the assured amount with the accumulated bonus is either paid to the insured after they reach the age of 80 or to the nominee or legal heir following the insured’s death -- whichever comes first.
Other details:
- Applicable age limit: 19-55 years.
- Assured Minimum Sum: Rs. 20,000
- Assured Maximum Sum: Rs. 50 Lakhs
- Loan facility: available after 4 years of completion
- Policy surrender: after 3 years of completion
2. Endowment Assurance (Santosh)
Under this scheme, the assured sum with the accrued bonus is paid to the proponent after reaching the pre-decided age of maturity. In the event of the death of the insured, the assured amount with bonus is paid to their nominee or legal heir.
Other details:
- Applicable age limit: 19-55 years
- Assured Minimum Amount: ₹ 20,000
- Assured Maximum amount: ₹ 50 lakhs
- Loan facility: after 3 years of completion
- Policy Surrender: after 3 years of completion
3. Convertible Whole Life Assurance (Suvidha)
This policy offers a whole life assurance cover with an option of switching to Endowment Assurance Policy after five years.
Other details:
- Applicable Age Limit: 19-50 years
- Assured Minimum Amount: ₹ 20,000
- Assured Maximum Amount: ₹ 50 lakhs
- Loan facility: after 4 years of completion
- Policy Surrender: after 3 years of completion
- There are other term insurance plans offered by insurance companies that come with a whole life cover option. If you opt for a whole life cover, you will be insured till you turn 99.
4. Anticipated Endowment Assurance (Sumangal)
This scheme is suitable for people who require periodical returns. It is essentially a money-back policy with an assured maximum amount of Rs. 50 Lakhs. It offers periodic payment of survival benefits. However, these payments will not be considered in case of an unprecedented death of the insurant. In that event, the full assured amount and accrued bonus will be paid to the insurant’s nominee or legal heir.
Other details:
- Policy term: 15-20 years
- Applicable age limit for a term policy of 20 years: 19 - 40 years
- Applicant age limit for term policy of 15 years: 19 - 45 years
5. Joint Life Assurance (Yugal Suraksha)
This scheme is a joint-life endowment assurance that entails the eligibility of one of the spouses for PLI policies.
Other details:
- It provides life cover for both spouses to the extent of an assured amount with accrued bonus.
- Assured Minimum Sum: Rs. 20,000
- Assured Maximum Sum: Rs. 50 Lakhs
- Age limit of spouses to be applicable: 21 - 45 years
- Loan facility: After 3 years of completion
- In case of the death of a spouse or the main policyholder, death benefits are paid to either of the survivors.
6. Children Policy (Bal Jeevan Bima)
This scheme provides insurance cover to the children of policyholders.
Other details:
- Maximum number of children of policyholder eligible: 2
- Age limit for children to be eligible 5 - 20 years
- The age of the policyholder or parent should not exceed 45 years.
- In case of death of the policyholder, no premium has to be paid for the Children Policy.
How To Check Your Postal Life Insurance Policy Status Online
Those who have a Postal Life Insurance policy would, some time or the other, require to check their policy status. However, in earlier times, people would typically have to queue up outside the post office and wait for their turn to speak to an officer regarding their query or even to pay their policy premiums. Times have now changed and the internet has made life much simpler. PLI policyholders can now carry out a number of policy related requests online and save not only time, but also money that is spent in making a trip to the post office. Here are some of the options one can use to check their PLI policy status online.
- Using Your PLI Account – Individuals who hold a Postal Life Insurance policy can go and create an account for themselves on the Postal Life Insurance website. After creating an account, they simply have to login to their account using their username and password, and request to know the status of their PLI policy.
- Via Email – Policyholders can also find out their policy status via email. For this, they will be required to send an email to pli.dte@gmail.com, or amplidte@gmail.com, and will receive the latest update regarding their PLI policy.
- India Post website – In addition to all the above options, customers can also check the status of their PLI policy from the India Post website.
Conclusion
Having a life insurance policy during these trying times has become an extreme necessity. With COVID-19 spreading like a wildfire in the country, it is wise to be protected financially to secure the future of your loved ones. We often think about our family and how they will manage their lifestyle if something happens to us. So, rather than leaving things to chance and procrastinating – it's better if you plan and research about the right life insurance plans that can be beneficial for you.
Also Read: What Are The Different Forms Of Life Insurance Policies?
