Life Insurance
Life insurance answers one question: if your income stopped tomorrow, would your family be able to carry on? Everything else about the product is secondary to getting that number right.
Placed by Naveen Kumar Pandey, IRDAI-licensed insurance agentNo consultation fee
What this actually is
A term plan is pure protection. You pay a premium, and if you die during the policy term the insurer pays your nominee a lump sum. If you survive the term, nothing is paid back. That is precisely why it is cheap — every rupee of premium buys cover rather than being split between cover and savings.
Endowment, money-back and whole life plans combine cover with a savings element and return money at maturity or at intervals. Because the same premium is doing two jobs, the cover is typically a fraction of what a term plan would give, and the savings component's return is usually modest.
A ULIP puts the investment part into market-linked funds you choose. The cover is there, but the value of your investment moves with the market and there is a lock-in period.
For most families with dependants, the honest recommendation is a large term plan first, and investment kept separate. We will explain the other structures properly if you want them, but we will not pretend they give the same protection per rupee.
Key facts
- Our appointment
- Max Life Insurance, agency code MAX26878A
- Cheapest form of cover
- Term insurance — no maturity payout, all premium buys protection
- Typical cover guide
- 10–15× annual income, adjusted for loans and dependants
- Premium drivers
- Age, health, smoking, occupation, sum assured and term
- Free-look period
- As specified in the policy document — you may return the policy within it
- Tax
- Deductions and exemptions may apply and depend on your tax regime. Confirm the current rules
This suits you if
- Anyone whose income supports a spouse, children or parents
- People with a home loan or other large borrowing
- Single-income households, where the need is greatest
- Young earners — premiums are lowest the earlier you buy
We would say no if
- People with no financial dependants and no large debts — you may genuinely not need cover
- Buying purely as a tax-saving product in March without checking the cover amount
Some conversations end here, with us telling you this is not the right product for you. That is a perfectly good outcome.
How it works, step by step
Work out the cover you need
A common starting point is ten to fifteen times your annual income, adjusted for loans, children's future costs and any existing cover.
Choose the term
Long enough to cover the years your family depends on your income — usually to around retirement, not an arbitrary twenty years.
Fill the proposal form honestly
Every illness, every habit, your true income and every existing policy. This step decides whether the claim gets paid.
Medical tests and underwriting
The insurer may ask for tests. The final premium is confirmed after underwriting, not before.
Free-look period
You can return the policy within the free-look window if it is not what you understood it to be.
We keep in touch
Renewal reminders every year, and a review whenever your income, loans or family change.
What you will need
- PAN card and Aadhaar
- Income proof — salary slips, Form 16 or income tax returns
- Age proof
- Recent photograph
- Bank account details for premium payment
- Existing policy details, if any
Do not have all of it to hand? Send what you have — we will tell you what is still needed.
What can go wrong
Every product has a downside. Here is this one's, in plain language, before you decide anything.
- Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. Read the sales brochure and policy wording before concluding a sale.
- Non-disclosure is the single biggest cause of claim rejection. Declare every illness, habit, existing policy and your true income — even if it raises the premium.
- Suicide within the first policy year is excluded under standard terms, and other exclusions apply. Read them.
- A lapsed policy pays nothing. If premiums stop, so does the cover.
- Investment-linked and endowment plans give far less cover per rupee than a term plan. Do not confuse a savings product with protection.
- Benefits, exclusions and waiting periods are governed entirely by the policy document, not by this page.
Questions people ask us about this
How much life cover do I need?
A common starting point is ten to fifteen times your annual income, then adjusted upwards for outstanding loans and your children's future education costs, and downwards for cover you already have. We calculate it with you rather than guessing.
Term plan or an investment-linked plan?
For pure protection, a term plan gives the largest cover for the smallest premium. Investment-linked plans mix cover with savings and usually give much less cover for the same money. We explain both and let you decide, but we will tell you which one protects your family better.
I smoke occasionally. Should I mention it?
Yes, always. Declaring it raises the premium; hiding it can void the claim entirely, which is the outcome your family cannot afford. The same applies to alcohol, existing illnesses and hazardous work.
What if I stop paying premiums?
A term policy lapses and the cover ends. Savings-type policies may acquire a surrender or paid-up value after a minimum period, but you will usually get back much less than you paid in. We send renewal reminders precisely to stop this happening by accident.
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Read moreReady when you are
Still deciding?
Ask us anything about this product — including how we are paid on it. We will answer straight.