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.
