Rural Postal Life Insurance [RPLI]

Rural Postal Life Insurance [RPLI]

Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) came into being as a sequel to the recommendations of the Official Committee for Reforms in the Insurance Sector (Malhotra Committee). The Committee had observed in 1993 that only 22% of the insurable population in this country had been insured; life insurance funds accounted for only 10% of the gross household savings. The Committee had observed:

“ The Committee understands that Rural Branch Postmasters who enjoy a position of trust in the community have the capacity to canvass life insurance business within their respective areas…..”

The Government accepted the recommendations of Malhotra Committee and allowed Postal Life Insurance to extend its coverage to the rural areas to transact life insurance business with effect from 24.3.1995, mainly because of the vast network of Post Offices in the rural areas and low cost of operations. The prime objective of the scheme is to provide insurance cover to the rural public in general and to benefit weaker sections and women workers of rural areas in particular and also to spread insurance awareness among the rural population. As on 31.03.2015, we have more than 23.51 million RPLI policies.