Hundred Years of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) (December 29, 1984)

Postal Life Insurance has completed 100 years of service to its clientele in 1984. This is a government managed life insurance enterprise primarily based on the consideration of the promotion of social welfare. The Post Office Department established an Insurance Fund in 1884 to provide its employees with a cheap and secure means of assuring their lives. The benefits of Postal Life Insurance were gradually extended to employees of other Government Departments and are now available to all persons having a regular means of income. Even members of the Armed Forces are eligible to purchase PLI policies at the same rates of premium as applicable to civilian policy holders.
2.The Postal Life Insurance offers the Whole Life and the Endowment Assurance policies. Children\'s Education and Marriage policies, Anticipated (three payments) and Joint Life policies form an important part of Endowment Assurance policies. Supplementary contracts providing insurance against accidental death or permanent disability are also offered to holders of Postal Life Insurance policies. For the benefit of people living in rural areas of the country where facilities for medical examination are inadequate, non-medical policies of upto a certain value are also available. Such policies are equally available to persons living in urban areas who may not wish to undergo medical examination.
3.PLI provides Group Insurance coverage to the employees of public and private organisations. The scheme is run as a welfare measure on profit-sharing basis. Postal Life Insurance also runs an annuity scheme particularly for the benefit of old persons who wish to have a regular and guaranteed monthly income.
4.Postal Life Insurance is known for its low premium and high rates of bonus. At present the bonus rates on Endowment and Whole Life policies are Rs. 36.00 and Rs. 45.00 per Rs. 1,000/. sum assured per annum, respectively.
5.The features which make the Postal Life Insurance unique in the insurance business include guarantee by the Government for the payment of the sum assured, the lowest premium and the highest bonus rate, most economical management, recovery of premium through Government servants\' pay bills and payment of premia at the Post Office of the insurant\'s choice and rebate on payment of advance premia in quarterly, half-yearly or annual basis. 6.At the time of Independence, Pakistan Post Office took over liability of 8,893 PLI policies for a sum assured of Rs. 20.9 million and the life fund amounting to Rs. 9.619 million. Ever since the progress has been phenomenal. By the end of June, 1984 the number of policies increased to 148,944 and the sum assured to Rs. 2142.125 million with the Life Fund amounting to Rs.661.50 million.
7.There are at present 25 PLI field Units in the country against only 5 in 1972-73. A field force of 2000 persons is busy in canvassing and securing fresh PLI business with a view to providing a better service to its clientele, a Regional Office, headed by a Director, was established at Lahore in 1982.
8.Against a target of Rs. 490.00 million of fresh business in 1983-84, the field force succeeded in securing a business of Rs. 510.66 million. The target of fresh business for 1984-85 has been fixed at Rs. 657.60 million.
9.The insurable age for life and endowment policies issued by the Postal Life Insurance has been raised by the Government from 55 to 60 years. The maturity age on fixed terms policies has also been raised from 60 to 70 years. The limit on PLI policies for Defence personnel has been raised from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000. Proposal for raising the limit on non-medical policies from Rs. 15,000/- to Rs. 30,000/- and introduction of some new types of policies viz: child protection policy and loaded policy in respect of under-average lives are also under active consideration of the Government.
To commemorate. the Centenary of PLI, Pakistan Post Office is issuing a set of two stamps of 60 paisa & Re.1/- denominations on December 29, 1984.