Term Life Insurance in India: What It Is, Why You Need It, and How to Choose the Right Plan (2026)
Most working Indians are carrying a risk that they have never consciously chosen to carry — the risk that if they die unexpectedly, their family has n
Term Life Insurance in India: What It Is, Why You Need It, and How to Choose the Right Plan (2026)
Last FY, I was reviewing the financial profile of a client — a 38-year-old factory supervisor from Ludhiana named Sukhwinder — who had recently taken a ₹45 lakh home loan and had two young children. When I asked him about his life insurance, he pulled out a folder with three traditional endowment policies, each with a sum assured of ₹5 lakh. Total coverage: ₹15 lakh. His outstanding liabilities alone were three times that amount. He was not uninsured — he was dangerously underinsured, and he did not even know it. That moment has stayed with me. And the more I have worked in financial services, the more I have realised that life insurance is the single most misunderstood financial product for middle-class Indians. People confuse it with investment. They under-buy it. They buy the wrong type. Or worse — they keep delaying it, telling themselves they will "get to it" when they are older, wealthier, or have more time to research. Here is the uncomfortable truth: the best time to b…
