What is the Army Postal Life Insurance Plan – Check Eligibility, Features & Benefits

The primary purpose of introducing the Army Postal Life Insurance is to safeguard and secure the families of Army personnel. The scheme is offered through the Army Postal Service (APS) Department of India. It provides life coverage to people employed under the Indian Armed Forces at a low premium compared to the general public.

Army Postal Life Insurance – Eligibility 

The Indian Army, Postal Service PLI, is open for defense personnel of all ranks, including BSF, CISF, short service commission, border roads, and so on. Even the noncombatants or people who are not engaged in fighting during a war, like Army doctors, clergy, etc., are also eligible if they pay the premiums in cash. Several plans with distinct premiums and benefits are available under Army PLI for different age groups.

Armed Forces Postal Life Insurance – Limits 

Criteria	For Officers and JCOs	Other Ranks
Minimum amount (INR)	2,000	10,000
Maximum amount (INR)	20 lakhs	20 lakhs

The sum assured under such plans is multiples of 10,000, and the minimum sum assured is INR 20,000 under the Yugal Suraksha plan.

Army Postal Life Insurance – Features 

Below are some features of Army PLI that can be enjoyed by military personnel:

1. Loan:

• The insurance scheme gives them the option to avail of a loan facility against the PLI as collateral.
• The option is available after 3 years of the plan in case of endowment assurance policies and 4 years in case of whole-life plans

2. Renewal:

• The armed personnel are allowed to revive a PLI that has lapsed in the below situations:
• If the policy term is less than 3 years and has lapsed after 6 non-payment of premiums
• If a policy is more than 3 years old and has lapsed due to 12 continuous non-payment of premiums

3. Nomination:

• The Army PLI lets the insured nominate their nominee and has the option to change the nominee if required

4. Policy Conversion:

• Army PLI schemes also allow the insured to switch plans from whole life insurance to endowment and so on

5. Policy Copy:

• The insured under the plan can receive a duplicate copy of the policy if they misplace or lose the original paper  

Army Postal Life Insurance – Benefits

Below are some benefits that army personnel can avail of through the Army PLI:

• Like in other insurance plans, tax saving is one benefit that the Army PLI plans offer
• These plans are available at cost-effective prices as compared to other regular plans
• The insured can track the premium, which can be paid on a yearly, half-yearly, or monthly basis
• The nomination facility is also there under Army PLI plans
• These plans come with a smooth and quick claim settlement procedure
• The policyholder is not required to undergo medical tests under most plans

6 Types of Army Postal Life Insurance Schemes

Here are some life insurance plans available under Army PLIs:

1. Suvidha – Convertible Whole Life Assurance

This is a PLI plan for the whole life and has the option of converting the policy to an endowment assurance plan after 5 years of its commencement.

Below are the details of the policy:

Key features	Details
Eligibility	Min. entry age -19 years Max. entry age – 50 years
Premium	Depends on the age of the policyholder and the sum assured of the policy
Sum assured	Min – INR 2000, Max – INR 50 lakhs
Loan option	Available after 4 years of policy
Surrender option	Available after 3 policy years, and the value is paid after 4 years
Surrender terms	No bonus is paid if the policy is surrendered before 5 years
Policy conversion option	Can be converted to endowment plans after 5 years of commencement of plan
Nomination facility	Available

2. Suraksha – Whole Life Insurance 

The sum assured under this scheme is paid to the insured either on turning 80 years old or to the nominee of the life assured after the death of the policyholder (whichever is earlier). However, the plan has to be active at the time of the claim.

 Below are the details of the policy:

Key features	Details
Eligibility	Min. entry age -19 years Max. entry age – 55 years
Premium	Depends on the age of the policyholder and the sum assured of the policy
Sum assured	Min – INR 2000, Max – INR 50 lakhs
Loan option	Available after 3 policy years
Surrender option	Available after 3 policy years
Surrender terms	No bonus is paid if the policy is surrendered before 5 years
Policy conversion option	Can be converted to endowment plans
Nomination facility	Available

3. Yugal Suraksha – Joint Life Assurance 

This policy allows the insured to include spouses under the PLI plan. Thus, both the insured and the spouse can have life coverage up to the sum assured, along with the accumulated bonus. The plan is available with a single premium amount.

Here are the key features:

Key features	Details
Eligibility	For both policyholder and spouse: Min. entry age -21 years Max. entry age – 45 years
Policy term	Min – 5 years, Max – 20 years
Loan facility	After 3 years of policy
Loan option	Available after 3 policy years
Nomination facility	Available
Surrender option	Available after 3 years

4. Santhosh – Endowment Assurance 

This plan entitles the policyholder to receive the sum assured as well as an accrued bonus in the form of a maturity benefit. If the policyholder dies suddenly, the nominee of the plan can claim a death benefit together with the accumulated bonus.

Here are the key details of the plan:

Key features	Details
Eligibility	Min. entry age -19 years Max. entry age – 55 years
Premium	Depends on the age of the policyholder and the sum assured of the policy
Sum assured	Min – INR 2000, Max – INR 50 lakhs
Loan option	Available after 3 years of policy
Surrender option	Available after 3 policy years
Surrender terms	No bonus is paid if the policy is surrendered before 5 years
Policy conversion option	Can be converted to endowment plans
Nomination facility	Available

5. Sumangal – Anticipated Endowment Assurance

This money-back policy offers INR 50 lakhs as the maximum sum assured. It suits people who are looking at periodic returns. The policyholder also is entitled to survival payouts periodically. If the life assured dies suddenly, the sum assured is paid to the nominee along with the accumulated bonus.

Here are some key features of the plan:

Key features	Details
Eligibility	For 20-year policy term: Min. entry age -19 years Max. entry age – 40 years For 15-year policy term: Min. entry age -19 years Max. entry age – 40 years
Policy term	15 and 20 years
Sum assured	Max – INR 50 lakhs
Nomination facility	Available
Survival benefit	Available periodically depending on policy terms

6. Children’s policy

This policy covers the children of armed personnel. Under this policy, coverage is provided from day 1 of buying the policy, and it doesn’t require the insured to go through any medical tests.

Here are some features of the plan:

Key features	Details
Sum assured	Min -INR 20,000 Max – INR 1 lakh
Assignment facility	Available
Nomination facility	Available
Payout	The sum assured and accumulated bonus is paid at plan maturity.
Coverage	Coverage under the plan starts from day 1 after the first payment of premium

Army Postal Life Insurance – Status

To check the status of Army PLIs, any of the below-mentioned ways can be followed:

• Through the online account of postal life insurance
• Through email at [email protected]
• Visiting the India Post official website
• Through postal life insurance customer care at 1800115699 toll-free number