Move underway to streamline Postal Life Insurance scheme

A move is underway to streamline the existing Postal Life Insurance (PLI) scheme aiming to lure more people in it amid a poor response, officials said.  
Increase of existing bonus rate and decentralisation of power to the grassroots level postal officials for settlement of policy-related matters are among the issues that the postal authorities are now seriously mulling to update.  A senior official of Bangladesh Post Office (BPO) said less than five per cent people are now policy-holders of PLI.  
The move to update the PLI scheme has come following what officials said 'demand of time' to attract more people to the insurance policy scheme.
The benefits of PLI are not limited only to the government and semi-government employees.  The scope is also available for general people who have regular income and an insurable life.
The PLI is run by the government on 'no profit, no loss' basis. The entire surplus is distributed among the policy-holders in the shape of simple reversionary bonus. The premium rates charged by BPO are the lowest as compared to those charges by other insurance companies.
"We have started working to update the PLI scheme for inclusion of more people in the insurance policy," director (banking and insurance) of BPO Ananda Mohan Dutta told the FE.
The present rate of bonus is Tk. 33 against Tk 1,000 on endowment policies annually and Tk. 42 on life policies against Tk 1000 annually. The rate of bonus will be increased once the existing the scheme is updated.
However, the postal official said the rate of bonus will be increased at a rate that is similar with other insurance companies.
As PLI is run by the government on "no profit, no loss" basis, the entire surplus is distributed among the policy-holders in the shape of simple reversionary bonus.
PLI premium can be paid in cash in post offices on monthly basis or premium may be paid by deduction from the monthly salary bill.
Rebate is, on the other hand, allowed if payment is made by the policyholder quarterly, six monthly or annually.
To meet the immediate financial needs, a policyholder can surrender his/her policy before maturity.  Loan to be the extent of 90 per cent of each surrender value acquired by a policy after two years is granted to the policyholders to meet their immediate financial needs to be repaid by them or on easy installments.
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