Postal Life Insurance



Postal Life Insurance started its operation in 1884, is the oldest life insurer in the country. Initially started in 1881 as a welfare scheme to cover Her Majesty's postal employees by the then Director General of Post Offices, F.R. Hogg, the scheme was soon extended to cover the employees of the Telegraph Department in 1888. Another feather in the cap for the fledgling organisation was extending the cover to female workers of the Posts and Telegraphs Department in 1894. This was at a time when no insurance Company covered women. Postal Life Insurance has grown significantly from a few hundred policies in the 19th century to over than 6.4 million policies with more than 23.51 million Rural Postal Life Insurance policiesin the 21st (figure as of March 31, 2015). In its initial days, the upper limit of life insurance was Rs. 4,000. This figure now stands at Rs 50 lakh due to the erosion in the real value of money over the years. Postal Life Insurance also covers Rural Postal Life Insurance that was set up on the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee (aka Official Committee for Reforms in the Insurance Sector) in 1993 to cover the rural sector in the country. Rural Postal Life Insurance leverages the vast network of post offices in the country to provide life insurance for the economically weaker rural population including women workers.

Postal Life Insurance now covers a wide range of Central and State Government employees, people working in public sector institutions and organisations. As of now, Postal Life Insurance covers employees of:

  • Central and State Governments
  • Central and State Public Sector Undertakings
  • Universities
  • Government aided Educational institutions
  • Nationalized Banks
  • Local bodies
  • Autonomous bodies
  • Joint ventures having a minimum of 10% Govt./PSU stake
  • Officers and staff of the Defence services and Para-Military forces.
  • Group Insurance scheme for the Extra Departmental Employees (Gramin Dak Sevaks) of the Department of Posts
  • Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
  • The Medical Council of India, The Dental Council of India, The Nursing council of India and The Pharmacy Council of India