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) 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 no financial protection whatsoever. No savings buffer. No debt repayment plan. No income replacement. Just the salary that stops arriving from the month after the funeral. This is not a hypothetical. It is the reality for the majority of Indian households with dependants — a spouse who does not work full-time, parents without a pension, children whose school fees depend on one income. The gap between what would happen to these families and what should happen is called the protection gap. And in India, it is very large. Term life insurance is the most direct, most affordable, and most rational solution to this problem. It is also among the most misunderstood financial products in India — partly because of how it has historically been sold, and partly because the products that look like life insurance (endowment plans, money-back policies, UL…
