A term life policy pays the sum assured to your nominee if you die during the policy term. In its plain form it pays nothing if you outlive the term, which is why it costs less than plans that also save or invest.
It is meant to protect people who depend on your income: it can repay loans and replace the money your family would lose. How much cover is enough depends on your family's own numbers, not on a rule of thumb.
Products
No products are listed in this category yet. Products appear here only after Finobazaar has reviewed them against the insurer's documents; we do not show invented products or prices.
What policies usually cover
- Death during the policy term, from causes the policy covers
- Optional riders bought with the policy, such as accidental death or critical illness, on their own terms
Your policy wording lists exactly what is covered, the limits and the exclusions.
What to check before you buy
- Sum assured and policy term (until the age your family needs support)
- Premium paying term and how premiums can be paid
- Exclusions, and what is paid if death happens from an excluded cause
- Riders, their cost and their own exclusions
- That every health and habit question in the proposal form is answered truthfully
- Nominee details, and that your family knows the policy exists
Key terms
- Sum assured
- The amount the policy pays on death during the term.
- Policy term
- How many years the cover lasts.
- Nominee
- The person you name to receive the claim amount.
- Rider
- An extra benefit added to the policy for an extra premium, with its own conditions.
- Free-look period
- A period after you receive the policy in which you can return it if it does not suit you. The policy document states its length.
Rules that apply
- A death claim that needs no investigation is to be settled within 15 days of the claim being made; one that needs investigation within 45 days. [1]
Rules referred to
- IRDAI Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 September 2024)
Complaint handling, claim timelines for life, health and general insurance, Ombudsman awards.
Finobazaar read published copies of these rules on 19 October 2026. Rules change: check the current text on irdai.gov.in or with your insurer.
Calculators
- Term life insurance cover calculatorEstimate how much life cover your family would need, and the gap after existing cover.
- Insurance coverage gap calculatorEnter the cover you need and the cover you have; see the gap and the shortfall in percent.
- Compare premiums you were quotedPut up to four quotes side by side, with the premium for each ₹1 lakh of cover. Your figures are not stored.
Guides and checklists
- How to make a life insurance claimDeath claims by the nominee: documents, steps and the time the insurer has to decide.
- Renewing an insurance policyGrace periods, keeping your benefits and what to check before you renew.
- Lost or missing policy documentsGetting a duplicate policy and making a claim when the papers cannot be found.
- Life insurance death claim: document checklistDocuments a nominee or legal heir is commonly asked for. A missing document alone is not a reason to reject a life claim.
- Policy details review checklistWhat to check in a new policy, ideally within the free-look period.
Official resources
- IRDAI – Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (opens in a new tab)The insurance regulator: regulations, circulars and the lists of registered insurers and intermediaries.
- IRDAI policyholder website (opens in a new tab)IRDAI's site for policyholders: consumer education and how to complain.
- Bima Bharosa – IRDAI grievance portal (opens in a new tab)Register and track a complaint against an insurer after you have complained to the insurer.Toll-free 155255 or 1800 4254 732; email complaints@irdai.gov.in. IRDAI accepts complaints from the policyholder or claimant, not from agents or other people writing for them.
Addresses checked on 19 October 2026.