Term Life Insurance Calculator
Calculate recommended sum assured via HLV and 15× income methods, plus an age-band premium estimate for 2026 policies.
Your Profile
Recommended Sum Assured
Recommended Cover
₹3.31 Cr
Shortfall vs existing: ₹3.31 Cr
HLV Method
₹3.31 Cr
15× Income
₹2.25 Cr
Annual Premium
₹36,037
Monthly Premium
₹3,003
Premium by Age Band (locked-in if bought today)
Age 25
₹24.8 K
Age 30
₹31.4 K
Age 35
₹43.0 K
Age 40
₹62.8 K
Age 45
₹92.6 K
Age 50
₹1.45 L
Age 55
₹2.25 L
Age 60
₹3.14 L
How much term life insurance do you actually need?
A term life insurance plan pays your family a lump-sum if you die during the policy term — no maturity value, no investment frills, just pure protection at the cheapest possible premium. The right sum assuredreplaces your economic contribution so dependants can continue without financial shock.
Human Life Value (HLV) method
HLV calculates the present value of all your future earnings until retirement. We project your annual income forward at inflation (typically 6%) and discount back at an expected investment return (8%). Then we add outstanding loans (home, car, personal) and subtract liquid savings and existing cover.
HLV = Income × (1 − ((1+g)/(1+r))^n) / (r − g) + Loans − Savings
Income-multiple method (15×)
A simpler sanity-check — 15× your annual income. For a 30-year-old earning ₹15 lakh, that's ₹2.25 crore. Most Indian policyholders are under-insured by this measure — industry average cover is just ~₹55 lakh per household, a fraction of what dependants would need.
What this calculator outputs
- Recommended sum assured (max of HLV and 15× income)
- Shortfall compared to your existing cover
- Annual and monthly premium estimate at your current age
- Premium by age band — showing the huge cost of delaying
2026 premium benchmarks (₹1 crore cover, non-smoker male)
- Age 25 — ~₹7,500/year
- Age 30 — ~₹9,500/year
- Age 35 — ~₹13,000/year
- Age 40 — ~₹19,000/year
- Age 45 — ~₹28,000/year
- Age 50 — ~₹44,000/year
Females get ~15% discount; smokers pay 40% more. Source: Jan 2026 quotes across top 5 insurers.
Common questions about Term Life Insurance
HLV vs 15× income — which method should I use?+
Use the higher of the two as your target sum assured. HLV (Human Life Value) discounts your future earnings to present value and adds loans minus savings — more accurate for HNIs. The 15× income rule is a fast sanity check. For someone 32 earning ₹15 lakh with ₹30 lakh home loan, HLV typically gives ₹2.5-3 crore; 15× gives ₹2.25 crore. Pick whichever is higher and round up to the nearest ₹50 lakh.
Why lock in term insurance young?+
Term premium is level for the full policy tenure and is priced at entry age. A ₹1 crore cover costs ~₹9,500/year at 30 but ~₹28,000/year at 45 — triple the cost for the same protection. Medical underwriting is also gentler at younger ages. Every year delayed adds 10-15% to lifetime premium outlay.
What is the Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR) and how do I check it?+
CSR is the percentage of death claims paid out in a financial year. IRDAI publishes it annually in the Annual Report. Target insurers with 3-year rolling CSR above 97%. Top players in CSR for FY 24-25: LIC (98.6%), Max Life (99.5%), HDFC Life (99.4%), Tata AIA (99.1%), ICICI Prudential (97.8%). Avoid insurers with CSR under 95% even if premium is 10-15% cheaper.
Are term insurance premiums tax deductible in 2026?+
Under the OLD tax regime, premiums qualify for Section 80C deduction up to ₹1.5 lakh combined with PPF/ELSS/home loan principal. The death benefit is tax-free under Section 10(10D). The NEW regime (default from AY 2024-25) removes 80C — you still get tax-free payout but no premium deduction. Factor this into net cost if you're in the old regime.
Should I choose a 30-year or 40-year term?+
Cover until your dependants are financially independent — usually retirement age 60 OR the age your youngest child becomes self-sufficient. For a 30-year-old with toddler, 30-35 year cover is ideal. Longer than 40 years adds cost without real benefit since by then your corpus should replace life cover. Avoid "whole life" term plans — they're 2-3× costlier than fixed-term.
Can smokers get term insurance and at what cost?+
Yes, but premiums load 35-50% vs non-smokers. A 30-year-old smoker pays ~₹14,000/yr for ₹1 crore vs ₹9,500 for non-smoker. Hiding smoking status is grounds for claim rejection — insurers test for nicotine (cotinine) during medicals. If you quit and remain tobacco-free for 24+ months, you can apply for re-underwriting at non-smoker rates. Vaping and occasional cigars count as smoking too.
Do I need riders on a term plan?+
Three riders worth considering: (1) Accidental Death Benefit — doubles payout on accidental death, 5-10% premium loading. (2) Critical Illness rider — pays partial lump sum on CI diagnosis; standalone CI plan usually better. (3) Waiver of Premium on disability — waives future premiums if you become disabled, cheap and useful. Skip: return-of-premium (defeats the purpose — pay 2× for same cover).