Chennai: The Bangalore-headquartered private life insurer, MetLife India Insurance Company Private Limited, has been approved by the central provident fund commissioner to offer group life cover to employees in lieu of the government's mandatory Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI).

The EDLI scheme is applicable to all employees coming under the purview of employees' provident fund scheme and requires every employer to offer life insurance protection linked to the average balance to the credit of the employees' provident fund, subject to a maximum insurance benefit of Rs60, 000.

MetLife's Group Term Life in lieu of EDLI can provide a higher sum assured upto a maximum of Rs2,50,000 to each employee. It is calculated based on the age, salary, nature of work or industry. The policy also provides uniform or graded coverage to provide the maximum flexibility. Additionally, it also provides flexibility in risk coverage through the accidental death benefit rider which equals the EDLI amount.

According to Suraj Kaeley, chief marketing officer, MetLife India, "EDLI is designed keeping in mind the need and requirements of the employer as well as the employee, and will play a major role in boosting employee morale and loyalty, therefore leading to a better work environment. With the introduction of group term life, MetLife India is seriously looking at further expanding its group insurance product portfolio and aims to service corporates better with customised products."

This apart the company has also come out with a non participating endowment policy called Met Saral.

Met Saral as the name suggests, can be procured with the minimum amount of formalities. The attractive features of this plan are its non-requirement of any medical tests and simplified application form, which requires only the name of the applicant and standard age and address proof. Filling up the form with the basic details guarantees policy issuance.

Met Saral ensures a sum assured of Rs1 lakh for a policy term of 5 and 10 years. There is only one payment option — regular with an annual mode and has a minimum entry level of 15 years and maximum of 50 years, with the base premium being eligible for tax benefits under section 88 of the Income Tax Act.