Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has informed that in order to give an added fillip in providing easy access to Life Insurance Products to people at large and to enhance insurance penetration and density, Guidelines on Point of Sales (POS) were issued on 9th November 2016. As per the said Guidelines, ‘Point of Sales (POS) Product’ means simple plain vanilla type of product wherein each and every benefit is predefined and disclosed upfront clearly at the time of sale itself and is very simple to understand. The four categories of products offered under POS – Life Insurance are as given under:

i. Pure Term Insurance Product with or without return of premium

ii. Non-linked Non-Participating Endowment Product (Money back feature also allowed)

iii. Immediate Annuity Product

iv. Any other product/product category, if permitted by the Authority.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Point of Sales product standards require simple, predefined life insurance offerings and specified product categories. Guidance defines Point of Sales (POS) Products as plain vanilla life insurance offerings with every benefit predefined and disclosed at sale, prioritising simplicity and transparency. Permitted POS categories include pure term insurance (with or without return of premium), non linked non participating endowment (money back feature allowed), immediate annuity, and other product types only if expressly authorised by the regulator.