Category hub
Life Insurance
Term, endowment, ULIP, money-back, whole life, and child plans — how each product category actually works, in plain English.
Life insurance in India spans several product categories that work very differently from each other. Pure-protection term plans pay a lumpsum to the nominee if the life assured dies during the term, with no maturity benefit. Endowment, money-back, and whole-life plans combine protection with a savings or bonus-accrual component, and pay a maturity benefit if the life assured survives. ULIPs (Unit-Linked Insurance Plans) are market-linked, with NAV-based fund values and explicit charges for mortality, premium allocation, and fund management. Child plans structure pay-outs around education milestones with a waiver-of-premium rider.
This hub explains each category as a neutral explainer — the mechanics, the charges, the tax treatment, and how to evaluate fit — so you can decide what suits your needs and consult a licensed advisor for a specific recommendation.
We also cover the supporting machinery: nomination rules, riders, surrender values under IRDAI's 2024 circular, and the Section 10(10D) taxation changes from April 2023.
What you'll learn on this hub
- How term, endowment, ULIP, money-back, whole life, and child plans each work
- How to size your sum assured using Human Life Value and expense replacement
- Which riders add cover (critical illness, accidental death, waiver of premium)
- How nomination, beneficial nominee rules, and Section 39 interact
- What Section 10(10D) says now, after the April 2023 threshold change
- Surrender value changes under IRDAI's 2024 rules
Guides
- What is term insurance?
Pure protection, no maturity payout — the mechanics and the product design.
- How much term cover do you need?
Human Life Value, expense replacement, liability sizing.
- Term insurance riders
Critical illness, accidental death, waiver of premium — and standalone alternatives.
- Term insurance claim process
What happens after intimation, and how Section 45 protects the nominee.
- The best age to buy term insurance
How premiums scale with age across a 30-year policy term.
- What is an endowment plan?
Sum assured, bonus mechanics, maturity benefit, and how to evaluate fit.
Coming soon
- What is a ULIP?
Premium allocation, mortality and fund-management charges, lock-in, NAV.
Coming soon
Calculators
- Term Insurance Need Calculator
Indicative term-cover estimate using the Human Life Value and expense-replacement methods — from income, years to retirement, outstanding loans, existing investments, and existing life cover.
- ULIP Charges & IRR Calculator
Indicative internal rate of return on a ULIP after premium allocation, mortality, fund management, and policy administration charges — under illustrative gross return scenarios.
- True Cost of Term Insurance
Total lifetime premiums paid, inflation-adjusted, versus the cover amount payable in the mortality-event scenario.
Claim guides
- Term insurance death claim — nominee walkthrough
Forms, documents, Section 45 protection, and the typical 10-30 day settlement window.
- Delayed death claim intimation
What to do if the family discovers the policy late and the intimation window has passed.