Rajkumar Anguluri·Software Engineer · Founder, Artha Engine·Last reviewed 15 April 2026·Methodology
Independent decision-support tool. Artha Engine is not a financial services provider, does not sell loans or insurance, and has no commission relationships with banks or insurers.
Term Insurance Calculator India 2026 — How Much Cover Do You Need?
How much term insurance do you actually need in India? Calculate the real life-cover gap across three methods — HLV, income, expenses. Free, 2026.
Your details
We size cover against income replacement, loans, and dependents' future expenses — not a blanket 'X times income' rule.
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Recommended term cover
₹6.3Cr
Fix this first
The Human Life Value gap means dependents would face a real income shock.
Add term cover equal to the gap; prefer pure term, not return-of-premium.
Recommended cover
₹6.3Cr
Cover gap vs. current
₹5.8Cr
Adequacy score
8.0%
Estimated annual premium
₹9,812
Cover-to-income ratio
34.77
Income replacement window
28 yrs
Breakdown
- Income replacement₹2.2Cr34.5%
- Loan cover₹30L4.8%
- Dependents' expenses₹3.8Cr60.7%
Benchmarks
If you were a non-smoker
You
₹9.8K
Benchmark
₹9.8K
Smokers pay roughly 50% more for the same cover.
If you had no outstanding loans
+5.0%You
₹6.3Cr
Benchmark
₹6Cr
Loans bolt directly onto the recommended cover.
What moves the result most
Holding everything else fixed, here is how the headline shifts when each input swings by a typical range.
You are critically under-insured
Your existing term cover is less than a third of the Human Life Value your dependents would need. Fix this before any new investment.
Adequacy score
8.0%
Outstanding loans are not fully covered by life insurance
If anything happens to you, the loan becomes a burden on dependents or co-applicants. Term cover should at minimum absorb the loan balance.
Outstanding loans
₹30L
Next best actions
The result hints at what to look at next. Each link carries your current numbers so you never re-enter them.
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At a glance
- What it does
- Takes the maximum of three standard methods (HLV, income replacement, expense replacement) and subtracts existing cover to show the real life-insurance gap.
- Rule of thumb
- Target 10-15× annual income as sum assured. Below 10× is underinsured for most salaried earners with dependents.
- Premium reality
- Smokers pay ~50% more; female applicants typically get a 10-15% discount. Return-of-premium plans cost 3-4× pure term and rarely beat MF + pure term.
- Best used for
- Sizing cover that clears all outstanding loans plus 15-20 years of dependents' expenses — before locking in a policy.
How It Works
This is the drill-down layer. The flagship flow leads with a recommendation, and this page lets you inspect the underlying model.
- Cover needed = max(HLV, income replacement, expense replacement).
- HLV = annual income × 0.6 × years to retirement, inflation-adjusted.
- Gap = cover needed - existing life cover; verdict grades the gap as adequate, underinsured, or critically underinsured.
Assumptions
The recommendation stays blunt, but the assumptions remain visible.
- HLV uses a 60% dependency ratio — the share of your income your family actually consumes.
- Income-replacement discounts the future income stream to present value; expense-replacement adds outstanding loans and planned milestones.
- Spouse income, if declared, reduces the required cover by its present value.
FAQ
The follow-up questions people usually ask after the main recommendation is already clear.
How much term cover should I actually buy?
For most salaried earners with dependents, 10-15× annual income is the baseline, with the exact number driven by outstanding loans and years to retirement. This tool computes the number using three methods and takes the highest — that's the cover that survives scrutiny.
Should I buy term insurance if I'm single with no dependents?
Usually no — term insurance exists to replace your income for people who depend on it. If no one relies on your earnings and you have no co-signed loans, the premium is better invested. Revisit the moment you have dependents or a joint home loan.
Is return-of-premium term insurance worth it?
Rarely. Return-of-premium plans cost 3-4× a pure term policy for the same cover, and the 'refund' is just your own money given back without interest. A pure term policy with the premium difference invested in mutual funds almost always ends up ahead.
Sources & references
Every formula and assumption above is grounded in these authoritative sources.
Related tools & decisions
Keep going from here — each link carries the same cluster context.
What to do next
Comparison pages
ULIP vs MF + Term — Which Actually Builds More Wealth?
ULIP vs MF + Term — which actually builds more wealth? Side-by-side 20-year charge drag, effective returns, and the verdict. Free India 2026.
Term vs Return of Premium — Is the Refund Worth the Extra Cost?
Pure term + invest the difference vs Return of Premium — which actually ends richer? Free calculator with Indian term premiums and inflation-adjusted refund.
Personal Accident vs Term Insurance: Cheaper Isn't Enough
Personal Accident premiums look cheap vs term — but PA only pays on accidental death and disability. 80% of death causes leave your dependents uncovered under PA-only. Free Indian calculator with coverage-share math.
Related guides
Long-form explainers that put the math behind this tool in context.
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How Much Term Insurance Do You Actually Need?
The 10× income rule-of-thumb was invented before inflation and dependents mattered. We break cover sizing into three blocks — income replacement, liabilities, and dependents' support — so the number you arrive at is the one your family can live on, not the one an agent upsold you.
Calculations and decision frameworks, not personalised financial advice. The numbers on this page are based on the inputs you supplied and the regulatory rules in effect when this page was last reviewed. They are not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, port, or surrender any specific financial product. Consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor, a qualified tax professional, or a licensed insurance broker before acting on a financial decision involving your money.
Artha Engine is an educational decision-support website. We do not offer loans, sell insurance, distribute mutual funds, provide regulated investment advice, collect loan applications, or receive commissions from banks, insurers, AMCs, brokers, or other financial providers. References to RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, Income Tax Department, or other authorities are source citations only. Artha Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any government authority, regulator, bank, insurer, AMC, or broker. Artha Engine does not charge users fees for using calculators, comparison tools, articles, or financial health scoring. Mailing address: India.
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